Jack's Not Going Anywhere
by woolenslipper
Summary: For anyone who was devastated, hurt, angered, or saddened by the season 5 finale, this unusual and fun story is for you. There's no reason that Jack's TV "death" has to be the end of Jack. This humorous story takes up where the TV finale left off, but it takes it in a way Hallmark wouldn't dare.
1. Chapter 1

**For anyone who was devastated, hurt, angered, or saddened by the season 5 finale, this unusual and fun story is for you. There's no reason that Jack's TV "death" has to be the end of Jack. This humorous story takes up where the TV finale left off, but it takes it in a way Hallmark wouldn't dare.**

 **JACK'S NOT LEAVING**

 **Chapter 1 – THE ENCOUNTER**

Elizabeth had been back in town a week and was still finding it hard to go more than an hour without crying. Everything reminded her of Jack. She couldn't look at anything which was the color red without remembering his woolen Mountie jacket. Horses reminded her of Jack riding. Bacon and eggs reminded her of the first breakfast he had cooked for her as a married couple. Even pencils brought her to tears as they reminded her of his talent for drawing

She absent-mindedly swung the basket in her arms as she made her way back from the Colton farm where she had purchased two small bottles of milk. Now that she was pregnant, she intended to drink plenty of the nutritious white liquid. She couldn't bring Jack back but she was determined to make sure that he had a strong healthy son or daughter.

Mr. Yost from the mercantile had told her that he'd be happy to drop off the glass milk bottles at her home every day or set aside some for her to pick up after her school days, but Elizabeth wanted to walk. She needed to walk.

The two-mile distance to the Colton's place allowed her to be alone. Alone with her feelings.

Today, Abigail had offered to join her, but Elizabeth had politely declined. She wanted to be alone with her thoughts of Jack.

Since Jack's death, the only time Elizabeth was not feeling pain was when she was asleep. And even then the horror of Jack's death sometimes invaded her. But not this morning. Despair hadn't descended on her this morning. Something else did. Bafflement.

It was so strange. This morning.

She had been in that place – somewhere between sleep and consciousness – when she heard it. A sigh.

That's all it was. A simple sigh.

Except there it seemed to be coming from the pillow next to where her head was lying.

Elizabeth had opened her eyes in a start and turned her head, but no one was there.

Jack's pillow was empty.

She would have started crying if she hadn't been so perplexed.

She stared at the pillow in puzzlement.

It had seen so real. Jack's sigh. If she had to describe it, she would say it was a sigh of temporary resignation. Not a sigh by someone who was totally giving up on something. Just a sigh of someone who knew that they would try again later. And keep trying and trying until they got whatever they were trying to do right.

The bark of a dog caused Elizabeth to stopping thinking of this morning and look to her right.

 _Oh, not Mrs. Clancy. I really don't feel like talking to anyone. She's just going to pity me,_ Elizabeth thought with a frown when she saw the middle-aged woman sitting atop a horse riding her in direction. The dog that had caught Elizabeth's attention was padding next to the larger animal.

Suddenly the horse jerked its head and took off at a trot, surprising Mrs. Clancy who held tight to the reins as her horse refused to listen to her commands.

Elizabeth had no idea what had caused the horse to suddenly change directions and ride away from her, but she smiled slightly as the woman disappeared from her view. _Good riddance._

* * *

Elizabeth was still a mile from home when she slowed her walk. She didn't want to go home to her empty house. Even though Jack and she had lived together in the home for less than a week, it had been _their_ home.

"Watch it. Step to the right!" the man's voice warned her.

Elizabeth quickly did as she had been ordered, and almost immediately saw a large brown snake slithering where her foot would have next stepped if she hadn't heeded the warning.

"That was close. Thanks," she replied in relief at avoiding the dangerous reptile. "That could have been disastrous."

Suddenly she stopped and swirled around. Her eyes grew wide in shock. She saw the tall grass. The trees at the edge of the woods. The town's buildings in the distance.

But there was no one around her.

She was alone in a field.

But she had distinctly heard the voice.

The voice which had warned her of danger.

Jack's voice.

She pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from gasping.

 _I'm going crazy._

 _Am I?_

 _That was Jack's voice._

She turned around again. Looking at nothing but nature.

 _I know I heard him! Just like I heard his sigh this morning!_

"Jack?" she whispered hesitantly.

"Did you hear me?" came a surprised response. The voice sounded even more in disbelief than she had been at hearing it.

Elizabeth dropped her basket in shock and stood frozen in place.

"Hey, you dropped your basket. I think you may have cracked a bottle," Jack's voice moved through the air.

"You're here!" she gasped.

"You can hear me!" the voice said in astonishment. "I've been trying for ages. It took me a while to figure out what was going on."

"Where are you?" Elizabeth exhaled as she stood with her feet seemingly frozen in place.

"Two feet away from you. I guess you can't see me. I'll work on that."

"You're here?"

"In front of you. You look tired, by the way. Not that I'm criticizing but you haven't been sleeping well."

"Am I going crazy?" Elizabeth's knees felt weak and she lowered herself to the ground. Not caring that she might get dirt or grass stains on her skirt. "You're dead and I'm going crazy."

"No, you're not going crazy," Jack answered dismissively. "Yeah, apparently I'm dead. Man, didn't see that one coming. But you're not crazy. I'm here. I think I'm a ghost."

"I think I'm going crazy", Elizabeth mumbled again. _I've been thinking of Jack so much that I've started to imagine him._

 _Maybe it's heat stroke_.

Elizabeth put her palm to her forehead and felt her skin. _Not too hot_.

 _Maybe I'm dreaming_. _I fell asleep and I'm dreaming. That's it_.

She quickly pinched her skin and felt the pain. _Don't be stupid. Why would I fall asleep while I'm walking_?!

 _Maybe I'm dehydrated_ , she thought quickly. _Yes, that must be it._ _I'm hallucinating because I'm dehydrated._

Elizabeth picked up the unbroken glass bottle and quickly removed the top. Chugging the milk as quickly as she could, she didn't care that she was acting terribly unladylike.

She decided she would sit for another minute to rest after finishing the bottle. Then she'd go home and straight to bed. _Bed. That's what I need. A good sleep. I should have had Mrs. Clancy give me a ride. I just need to re-hydrate and get a good night's sleep._

She took a final swig from the bottle.

"You got some milk on your chin," Jack noted helpfully.

The bottle fell from Elizabeth's hand when she heard his voice. Milk splattered across her skirt.

"Are you real?" she whispered loudly.

"Yep."

"But you can't be."

"Why not?"

"Because –"

She faltered. _Why not_? It was a good question. She never thought that he would die so soon after their marriage and yet he had. So why couldn't he be a ghost? At this point, nothing should surprise her.

"Because I can't see you. And ghosts aren't real", she attempted to explain weakly.

"Our love was real. We couldn't see it. We couldn't hold it in our hands. But it was real. It was there. You can't see me -not yet. And you can't hold me. But I'm real. . . . At first, I thought that maybe I was an angel, but nah, don't think so," Jack continued pensively. "No wings."

"I can hear you just like you're really here," she said in wonder.

"Finally!" he said with satisfaction. "I thought I'd never get through to you. It was easy to get that horse to do what I wanted, but I guess humans are harder to get through to. I told myself this morning that I wasn't going to give up no matter how long it took."

"Were you in bed with me this morning?" a still shocked Elizabeth asked as she thought back to the sigh to which she had awoken.

"I was. I've been keeping an eye on you. Since I figured out how to move from place to place. And I wanted to be with you. I missed you. By the way, the nightgown you wore last night – kind of boring."

"I'm a widow! I'm in mourning! There's no one for me to be sexy for!" an insulted Elizabeth protested.

Jack shrugged but Elizabeth couldn't see him. She did, however, hear the pleasure in his voice when he spoke again. "I like the white one you wore on our honeymoon. And the silky blue one."

Elizabeth smiled and for a moment she forgot that she was talking to a ghost. "I'll wear it tonight."

"When you wore it on the second night of our honeymoon trip, I thought I had won the lottery. Man, that was a great night."

Elizabeth giggled. "You were quite impressive, and I seem to remember that I wasn't wearing it for very long. Somehow you managed to slip it off me quite easily."

"That's why I like it so much," Jack answered with an unseen grin. He looked at his wife and was happy to see her smile. A real smile that came from her whole body. The first in weeks.

"We should get you home. It's going to get dark soon."

Elizabeth didn't stand up as she suddenly grew worried.

"Jack, why are you here? If you're really here and I'm not just imagining this."

"I'm here because I love you. And you love me. And death can't part us," he said seriously.

"At least I think that's it," he added with a shrug.

"How long are you going to stay with me? Can you stay forever? Please?" she pleaded in the direction of his voice. "I have missed you so much."

"I'm not planning on going anywhere. This is where I belong. With you. Besides, we're having a baby."

"You know about the baby?! How?!"

Jack smiled broadly. "I've been following you around. And yeah, I know about the baby," he said proudly. "Pretty good, huh? We're going to have a baby. That was some honeymoon."

"Is it a girl or a boy?" Elizabeth asked eagerly.

"I'm a ghost, not a fortune teller," Jack said with a laugh.

* * *

The couple sat in the grass for close to an hour as the sun set. Each one telling the other about what they had been through. How much they loved each other.

Jack's memory of the first days after his demise were somewhat muddled. As far as he could tell, the longer he was determined to stay with Elizbeth and find a way to communicate with her, the stronger he became.

"Was it bad?" she asked meekly. "The landslide?"

"Not really. It all happened really quickly. The last thing I remember is seeing some ugly bird fly by me. Nasty screeching thing. I'm sorry you had to go through everything."

"You're here now. That's what counts. And you'll be here for the baby?" she asked anxiously. "Please please be here for the baby."

"I'll be here for baby. I promise. But, it's dark. Someone's bound to notice you're missing and come looking for you. It's time to get home."

"I don't have a lantern," Elizabeth lamented with a frown.

"Not needed. The good thing about being a ghost is apparently we have great eyesight. I'll make sure you're okay."

Elizabeth shook her head in mild amusement. "You're really taking to this whole ghost thing. I, on the other hand, still think I've gone off the deep end."

Jack chuckled. "You haven't gone off the deep end. But you're the only person that's been able to hear me. We should probably not have too many conversations in public or people will think that your mourning has turned into some kind of serious mental illness."

"I wish I could see you," Elizabeth told him as they continued walking.

"I'm working on that."

 **Up next: Chapter 2.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Home again

**CHAPTER 2 – HOME AGAIN**

Elizabeth and Jack had so easily fallen back into their normal routine of talking as they walked back to the rowhouse, that Elizabeth forgot how unusual the circumstances were. It probably helped that it was dark outside which made it seem more like an ordinary nightly walk rather than a walk between a flesh and blood wife and her ghostly husband.

In fact, it wasn't until after she had opened the front door and twisted on the kerosene lamp in the entrance that Elizabeth remembered the oddity of the situation.

She stopped talking in mid-sentence when the lamp's glow illuminated the room. She could see her sofa. Her desk. Her table.

But no Jack. Even though he was talking to her. She couldn't see him.

"What's the matter?" he asked curiously as he looked around the room. "Everything okay? Did someone break in? Are you missing something?"

"Everything's okay" she answered hesitantly. "It's just . . .odd. I can't see you."

"Sorry," he apologized. "I don't know how to make myself visible. It took me this long just to get you to hear me."

Elizabeth gave a small smile. While they had been sitting in the grass, Jack had told her of the times he had talked to her. On her long stage-coach rides, her trips to his grave, the days she cried, the nights she cried. He had been there trying to get her to hear his voice. Begging her to hear him. Screaming at her to hear him. But her sorrow and his inexperience at not having a physical form had kept her deaf to his voice. She smiled now because he had been there, wanting to be there to comfort her while she grieved. Wanting to let her know it would be okay.

The knock on the door caught them by surprise.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth! It's me. Rosemary."

Elizabeth grabbed ahold of the door knob when she saw it turning by the hand on the other side. Pressing her body against the door to keep it from being opened by her next-door neighbor, Elizabeth frantically addressed Jack.

"Hurry. Hide," she whispered hoarsely to him.

"I don't need to hide," he whispered back automatically and then realized that he didn't need to speak softly.

"I don't need to hide," he repeatedly loudly.

"Shh!" Elizabeth warned in a harsh whisper. "She'll hear you!"

"She can't hear me. And she can't see me."

"How do know?"

"Elizabeth. Are you in there? I can't get the door open," Rosemary called through the thick wood separating her from the inside.

Jack chuckled. "Because even you can't see me."

"Good point."

"And it's taken weeks for me to get you to hear me."

"Elizabeth! I brought you some stew."

Elizabeth kept her back now pressed against the door. "She won't go away," she cried in frustration.

"Go ahead. Open the door."

Elizabeth hesitated a moment. "Okay, but keep quiet. Just in case."

* * *

Rosemary pushed her way into the room when Elizabeth opened the door just a crack.

"It's too dark in here. You need to turn on some more lamps," she said critically as she moved past Elizabeth and made her way to the kitchen area. "The stew's still warm. I've been waiting for you to get home. Finally, I saw your light through the window. You were gone a long time. I was starting to think I would have to send Lee to go look for you."

Rosemary set her small pot on the stove and moved to the cupboard where she took out a bowl.

"Sit down," she ordered in surprise when she saw Elizabeth was still standing by the door mutely watching her. "What in heaven's name is wrong with you, Elizabeth? You act like you've seen a ghost."

"I- I have a headache," Elizabeth fumbled for an answer. "Yes, a terrible headache. Absolutely terrible." She moved her hand to her forehead to illustrate the point. "I think I'll just go lie down."

"You poor dear. Let me get you some Bayer aspirin," Rosemary instructed. She quickly began rummaging through Elizabeth's drawers.

Jack's forced cough caused Elizabeth to tense up, but Rosemary didn't seem to have heard anything.

"I'm okay. I'll find the aspirin. You go on home now. I don't want to keep you," Elizabeth hastily said.

"Don't be silly. You need me. Now just sit down and I'll take care of your headache."

"Why don't you just leave? That'd get rid of the headache," Jack said with a chuckle, causing Elizabeth's eyes to grow wide in panic.

Elizabeth glanced nervously at Rosemary.

"Aha! I knew I'd find you!"

Rosemary held up a small bottle of pills. "Everyone seems to keep aspirin in their kitchen drawer," she explained happily as she turned to Elizabeth.

* * *

Two minutes later, Elizabeth had swallowed the unnecessary aspirin along with a glass of water and managed to force Rosemary out the door before the pushy woman could escort her to bed in an over zealous attempt to be helpful.

"I thought she'd never leave," Jack said. "But I'm glad she brought you dinner. You should eat."

* * *

When Elizabeth felt the edge of the sink with her hand, she placed her dirty bowl into the basin. She had eaten the stew in almost complete darkness while Jack had kept her company.

Deciding that she needed more time to get used to the idea of Jack being invisible, she had dimmed the kerosene lamp and imagined that her husband was fully formed sitting at the table during their meal.

Actually, during _her_ meal. Jack apparently no longer needed to eat.

"Tonight, will be the first good night's sleep I've had since. . . well, you know, since . . .then," Elizabeth's voice trailed off.

She didn't like to say the words of what had happened to Jack. "You'll stay the night, won't you?" she asked with a hint of worry in her voice.

"That depends," Jack answered as they made their way upstairs.

Elizabeth's face tensed. "On what?"

Jack chuckled. "On what nightgown you're going to put on."

* * *

"This is so not fair," Jack grumbled as Elizabeth, wearing her blue silk nightgown, climbed into bed. "I obviously didn't think this through when I asked you to wear that."

"What do you mean?"

"You are sexy and my wife and we are alone in our bedroom. And I can't touch you."

They had tried to touch several times over the past few hours. First in the grassy field, then on the walk home, and finally at the dinner table. But she felt nothing.

"Are you sure that you're trying to touch me and not just playing games," she had asked with raised eyebrows when a frustrated Jack had explained that his hand simply went through Elizabeth's body.

"Yeah, right. Because that's every man's dream. To _pretend_ to touch a woman," he had answered sarcastically.

Elizabeth pulled her light blanket up over her body and lay her head on her pillow.

"I remember when I used to wait for your kisses. The first months we knew each other. I used to imagine what they would be like," she said as she stared upwards towards the ceiling.

She chuckled as she thought more about it. "It took you forever!"

"Hey, I was trying to be professional and a friend," a slightly insulted Jack protested.

"And you were," she said supportively.

"Thank you."

"You just took waaay too long," she pleasantly but critically reminded him. "You could have kissed me a lot sooner. You had me swooning from day one. I used to think about you when I went to bed when I was living with Abigail."

"I used to go to bed at the jail thinking you were the most aggravatingly desirable woman I had ever met," he replied.

"Do you sleep?" Elizabeth asked in surprise when the thought suddenly came to her. "Now that you're a ghost."

"Yeah, I get tired when I'm jumping back and forth between places. It's hard work. It's getting easier the more I do it, but I'm still new at it."

"I love you,' she told him gratefully. "I have loved you for so long."

"I love you, too."

"Thank you," Elizabeth spoke in the direction of his voice. She knew he was lying next to him even if she couldn't see him.

"For what?"

"For coming back to me."

"This is where I belong." His voice was sincere and honest. "Besides I think you had something to do with it."

"Me? What do you mean? Because I love you so much?"

"More specifically your marriage vows. I believe you said from chalk dust to eternity. This is about as close to eternity as you can get. In fact, I think it _is_ eternity," he chuckled. "I'm glad you said it."

"So am I. I love you," she told him again.

Without thinking, he reached out his hand to tenderly touch her face as he used to do, but his hand simply glided through her.

As she lay in the darkness, a smile broke out across her face. "Jack?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you just touch me? My face?'

Jack was suddenly alert. "Did you feel that?!"

"I felt something. It was weird. Like a very subtle warm breeze went across my cheek and came out the other side. It was nice."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Jack and Elizabeth were exhausted. They had tried over and over again but hadn't been able to get Elizabeth to feel his touch again. Or for her to feel him.

"I felt you once. That's progress," Elizabeth said encouragingly as she turned her face towards his voice.

"You're right. You can hear me and you felt me once. It's been a good day. But still –"

"What?"

"I'm not sure this is how most newlyweds get exhausted in their bedroom," Jack said a grumble.

 **Up next: Chapter 3**


	3. Chapter 3 - It's real

**CHAPTER 3 – IT'S REAL**

The morning rain made a pinging sound as the water droplets were blown against the window by the gusts of wind.

The sound roused Elizabeth from her sleep. It was just a few seconds before she remembered what had happened the day before. When she did, she bolted upright in bed.

"Jack?" she whispered.

"Jack?" she called out louder when he didn't answer.

Silence seemed to flood the room.

"Jack, are you here?"

She refused to move. Thinking that if she remained still she would hear him.

When she didn't get a response, her eyes welled up with tears.

 _It was just a stupid dream._

 _How could it have seemed so real? Everything was so real._

 _He was here with me,_ she sobbed.

 _Please let him have been here with me._

Outside the window, she heard thunder off in the distance and the pinging of the rain.

Inside the bedroom, there was no sound but her own breathing.

She was alone.

Pulling herself together, she wiped the newly formed tears from her face and crawled out of bed. She would have preferred to stay cocooned under her covers all day and forget about the outside world but she knew someone would coming looking for her if she didn't show up at school.

* * *

She thought the whole evening had been a dream until she saw the dirty bowl from last night's dinner in the sink. She stared at it with a start. A film of dried gravy remained as evidence of the meal she had eaten.

 _It was real. I ate the stew that Rosemary brought over. That happened. That was real._

 _But Jack wasn't here_ , she concluded with a sigh.

Elizabeth sadly decided that she had been exhausted from her walk from the Colton farm and had merely imagined that Jack had visited her.

 _It was just a hallucination. Probably that stupid mushroom soup I had for lunch yesterday. They were probably hallucinating mushrooms. Magic mushrooms. I read about them once. Mind-bending fungi._

 _Maybe I can get them again._

 _That's what I should live on. Magic mushrooms._

She picked up the dishcloth and wiped away a few tears which had formed. _It was nice hallucination while it lasted._

"Hey, why are you crying?"

"Jack?!" a shocked Elizabeth hastily called out when she heard his voice. She swirled around to get a glimpse of him. Forgetting for a moment that he was invisible. "Jack, are you here?!"

"Sorry that I wasn't here when you woke up but you were sleeping so well I decided not to wake you when I left."

"Where did you go?!"

"My ma's. I wanted to check in on her," he answered.

"You went all the way to Aberdeen?"

"It's not so far when you're a ghost," he explained. "Actually, it's the same distance, it just doesn't take as long to get there."

"Could she hear you?"

"No," Jack shook his head but Elizabeth couldn't see it. "But I hope that just being around her gives her some kind of comfort. Like maybe she can feel my presence or something."

"How's she doing?"

Through Charlotte's letters, Elizabeth knew the woman was trying to be strong even though she was grieving.

"Not so good. I walked with her when she went to the post office to send you a telegram. She wants you to know that she's thinking of you every day, and she'll come if you need her to. She can stay for three weeks anytime you need her. Now tell me, why were you crying?"

"I thought you were a dream."

"You used to call me dreamy," he said with a smile.

Elizabeth laughed with a sob and collapsed into a kitchen chair. "I though you weren't real. That I had imagined you."

"Why would you think that?" he asked in puzzlement. "We spent hours talking last evening."

"Why would I think I imagined you? You have got to be kidding me. You are a GHOST! I can't see you. I can't feel you!"

"You did once. You felt me once," he reminded her. "And you will again. We just have to have faith."

* * *

Elizabeth felt nothing but eventual foolishness as she swished her hand through the air, patted the air, and pushed her hands out into air of their front room.

She and Jack had been trying for more than fifteen minutes to feel each other. Standing up. Sitting down. Naked skin. Clothed skin. With gentle pats. With hard pushes.

She felt equally foolish as she had continuously asked Jack "what are you doing? Try my arm. Try my leg. Try my back. Did you try my face again?"

When she ordered him to kick her and he adamantly refused, they finally gave up, and plopped onto the couch. At least she did. She wasn't actually sure what he did because she couldn't see him and the cushion didn't sink down under him.

"You could have at least _tried_ to kick me," she complained.

"I am not going to kick my wife!"

"I probably wouldn't have felt it anyway," she grumbled with a frown.

"I am NOT going to kick you," he reiterated. "I may be a ghost but I'm still a gentleman."

* * *

Like a gentleman, Jack escorted Elizabeth to school after she had eaten a quick breakfast.

While she now wrote on the chalkboard, he blew aside a sheet of paper and sat sideways on the edge of her desk watching her. He realized it was stupid to move aside the paper before sitting down - it wasn't going to be affected by his presence -but he liked to retain some sense of politeness. And since his body was useless at moving things, his only option was to blow it aside.

He whistled a tune while Elizabeth filled the board with the week's vocabulary list.

Eternity

Infinity

Perpetuity

Limitless

Boundless

Forever

"I'm sensing a theme", he noted with a grin.

She smiled and set down the piece of chalk.

"You can't stay there," she told him as she looked to the door and was relieved to see that it was still too early for students.

"Why not? They can't see me. And I like looking at you. You're pretty."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at his compliment.

"I like you looking at me," she admitted and found herself blushing like a young school girl instead of a married teacher.

"So why can't I stay?" he challenged.

"Because what if they can sense you? Or hear you? Young children are like animals. Naïve. Innocent. You said animals can sense you."

"I've been hanging around for weeks and no young innocent naïve animal-like child has noticed me yet."

* * *

"You'll whistle, got it? Nothing else," Elizabeth hissed to Jack as the first of her students started up the steps of the school house.

"Got it," he said.

"Jack," she said warningly.

"I promise, teacher. I'll whistle first to see if they can hear me. You want a blue jay or a cardinal? I can probably do both," he offered with a smile in his voice.

* * *

It was twenty minutes into the day's English lesson, when Elizabeth heard the soft whistling imitation of a bird.

She froze with the grammar book in her hand and glanced around at her students.

 _That's not a blue jay or a cardinal. It's more like a . . . wood thrush,_ she realized as Jack whistled once more. _Oh for Pete's sake, who cares what type of bird it is? He's whistling. Can they hear it?!_

A couple of students who had been twirling their hair or lazily examining their fingernails stopped what they were doing to look at Elizabeth. Soon all the students stared at her expectantly. Waiting for her to continue speaking.

Elizabeth nervously returned to the sentence in her book and then pointed to the chalkboard where she had written an example. "As I was saying, class, make sure you don't use a split infinitive in your writing, and try to never use the passive –"

A louder whistling pierced the air causing her to stop in mid-sentence and her heart to beat faster.

"The passive what, Mrs. Thornton?" Opal asked curiously when Elizabeth seemed to stop talking for no reason.

 _None of them heard Jack whistling!_

"The passive voice," an awe-struck Elizabeth answered absently as she thought about Jack. "The passive voice shouldn't be used by anyone if they are going to properly write a sentence."

 _None of them heard him! Either I'm the only one who can hear Jack or I'm the only one who's hallucinating!_

"You just did," Hattie noted.

"Excuse me?" a still dazed Elizabeth asked as she turned her attention from Jack's whistling to her student.

"You just used the passive voice when you answered Opal's question."

"Um. Yes. That . . .um . . .that was an example of what not to do."

"You also used a split infinitive," Rachel volunteered. "Was that an example too?"

"Yes, that was an example too. Just to see if you were paying attention," she quickly lied. _How did these kids get so smart? I need to have more recess and fewer lessons._

When Jack teasingly started whistling the entire Canadian National anthem, Elizabeth shook her head humorously and bit her lip to keep from smiling.

* * *

"I'm taking off for a while. I think I'll see what's going on in town." Jack's friendly voice carried across the school room an hour later.

"Wait!"

The students looked up from their tests and paused at their teacher's one word command. Which was more like a frenzied scream.

Elizabeth looked at the young expectant faces. "Um. You can go ahead. Take the tests. I . . um . . . am just wondering how long you . . um . . think it will take you."

She assumed that Jack would figure out that the question was meant for him.

"How much time do we have?" one of the boys asked.

"You always give us 'til recess," another boy reminded her.

"I'm slow at test taking", Opal whined.

"You made the test. How long do you think it will take us?" another girl asked critically.

Elizabeth sighed in frustration at her students and heard Jack laughing.

"I'll stop by later to pick you up after class," he told her.

* * *

"I think I should go see Carson," Elizabeth informed Jack as they walked side by side towards the center of town.

She had been thinking about it during the school day. She should get a through physical examination and talk to the doctor about the mushrooms she had eaten. And about her pregnancy. He would probably tell her that it was perfectly normal for a pregnant woman to hallucinate about a dead husband.

"Are you feeling okay? Is it the baby?"

"No, it's not the baby," she snapped at him. "It's the fact that I'm hallucinating!"

"You are not hallucinating," Jack said dismissively.

"Of course I am. You're not really here."

"I am started to feel insulted," Jack responded. "It's bad enough I got killed with no time to say goodbye to you but now you don't think I'm here."

"Jack, I love you. You know that. It's just that you can't possibly be real. No one else can hear you and I can't see you. I can't even feel you but that one time. Maybe I imagined it."

"You did not imagine it," he said in annoyance.

"How do you know? Oh for Pete's sake, why am I asking you? If I'm imagining you, you're naturally going to tell me that I'm not imagining you."

"A deaf person can't hear but that doesn't mean there's no sound. A blind person can't see but that doesn't mean there's not beauty in the world. You can't feel oxygen but it's been around you your whole life."

* * *

Elizabeth was still pondering Jack's insightful musings when she passed by the mercantile on her way to the doctor's office.

"Elizabeth! Yoo hoo!" Rosemary called out with a theatrical wave of her hand as she hurried down the store steps.

"Mr. Yost has a telegram for you. He was just mentioning that you would probably stop by for some bottles of milk and pick it up. I told him that I would deliver it but he said some silly nonsense about Western Union telegram privacy laws. As if I would be nosy enough to read it."

"Thank you, Rosemary. I'll go in and get it now."

"Who do you suppose it's from?" Rosemary frowned slightly. "I do hope it's not something depressing about Jack's death. I know some people are still sending condolences but they should write a proper letter rather than a telegram. I'll go in with you."

Without waiting for a reply, Rosemary took Elizabeth by the arm and escorted her up the stairs.

"It's really not necessary, Rosemary. I can read the telegram. I'll be fine."

"You'll need me for strength."

"I won't need you for strength. It's probably –"

Elizabeth froze in midsentence as she remembered her conversation with Jack that morning.

"Probably what?" Rosemary pulled back slightly and looked curiously at Elizabeth who was numbly standing still.

"Probably my mother-in-law", she answered with trepidation.

"Charlotte? Why do you think that?"

 _Why would I think it was Charlotte?! Think, Elizabeth! Think!_

"She wrote that she might be sending me a telegram," Elizabeth offered nervously as she took the envelope from the outstretched hand of Mr. Yost, who had reached for it when he saw the women entering his store.

Rosemary scrunched her face in confusion. "She wrote that she might be sending you a telegram? That makes no sense."

"Um . . well. Yes, it does."

"No, it doesn't," Rosemary countered. "People don't write a letter which takes days to get here just to tell someone that they'll send a telegram which only takes seconds. It makes no sense."

"Yes, it does!" Elizabeth said adamantly even though she actually agreed with Rosemary. She nervously opened the envelope and took out the thin sheet of paper.

"Why would she write by mail that she'd be sending a telegram? It simply isn't logical," Rosemary continued to argue.

"We're two women in mourning, we don't have to be logical for you!" Elizabeth said irritably as she tried to concentrate on reading the telegram to herself.

 **Elizabeth. Thinking of you every day. I miss him too. I can be there if you need me. Able to stay three weeks at a time. Love Charlotte**.

Elizabeth lowered the slip of paper and then slowly placed a hand over her lips to silence her gasp.

 _He's real,_ she thought in near disbelief _._

 _There's no way I could have known about this if Jack hadn't visited me this morning. He was with his mother this morning when she sent this telegram._

In a daze, she looked at the telegram one more time. Oblivious to Rosemary who was rattling on about something.

 _I'm married to a ghost._

Hurriedly extracting herself from Rosemary's intrusive nature, Elizabeth was making her way to the exit when Mr. Yost called out.

"You need a bottle or two, Mrs. Thornton?"

 _One or two's not going to do it! I could use three bottles right about now,_ a flustered Elizabeth realized. _Whiskey. Vodka. Gin. Rum. Who cares. I'll take red wine. White wine. Whatever he's got. How'd he know I needed something? Do I look like I've been talking to a ghost?_

She stood there wondering if it was okay to drink alcohol this early in the pregnancy when Mr. Yost came forward holding two bottles of milk.

 _Oh, he meant milk. Yes, that makes more sense._

 _And much better for the baby._

Elizabeth took her milk bottles and left the store, ignoring the pitying looks of the other customers who assumed her odd behavior was due to mourning Jack.

* * *

"Jack", she said quietly between pursed lips as she walked along the dirt path towards home.

"Jack? Answer me if you're here", she told him. She moved swiftly and kept her head down to keep from drawing attention to herself.

"I'm here," he replied dryly.

She recognized the pout in his voice. "Why are you sulking?"

"How do you know I am?" he challenged.

"Because I know you. I know how you sound when you're pouting about something. Like how you used to get when you thought I was choosing my life in Hamilton over you. So, speak up, tell me what's wrong."

"What's wrong?! I came all the way here to be with you. I've been trying for weeks to talk to you, and then you don't even believe me when you can finally hear me. It hurt my feelings."

"You have feelings?" she asked in surprise.

"I'm dead. Not frozen! Of course, I still have feelings!"

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from smiling at his indignant response. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You have to know that." _Wow, men can be really sensitive babies even when they're ghosts_ , she thought humorously.

"Have you stopped pouting?" she asked when he didn't respond.

"Yeah, I guess. I –"

Jack stopped by speaking as a cat darted around the corner of the Martin home and swiftly brushed against Elizabeth's skirt. The animal was trailed by a large dog which had no intention of having Elizabeth stand in its way as it closed in on its feline prey.

The yellow mutt never stopped as it crashed into Elizabeth's leg and continued its pursuit of the cat.

The milk bottles in Elizabeth's hands went flying into the air as she stumbled. When they smacked into the ground, they broke into pieces causing Elizabeth's intended daily beverage to pour into the dirt.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth!", Mrs. Martin cried out as she came running over. "Are you alright? Thank goodness you didn't fall. I'm so sorry about you milk. I'll send Jason to get you some more."

"It's fine. I'm fine," a dazed Elizabeth said.

"I thought for sure the dog was going to knock you over. That dog is too big and wild. Again, I'm so sorry," the middle-aged woman apologized. "Good thing you caught yourself."

"Elizabeth, are you okay?" Jack's voice penetrated the air.

"I'm fine."

"Did you say something?" Mrs. Martin turned back from walking towards her house and looked at Elizabeth.

Elizabeth waved her off dismissively and began moving one foot in front of the other.

"Elizabeth, what's the matter? Why are you acting so strange?" Jack asked worriedly.

"I felt you!" she whispered excitedly. "Just now you held me up when I stumbled. You kept me from falling. Didn't you?"

Jack stopped walking.

"I did", he replied in amazement as he thought about what had just happened. "it was just a natural instinct. I didn't even think about it."

His voice became more animated. "I felt you! And you felt me!"

"Let's get home!" she whispered as she furtively looked around to make sure no one was looking.

 **UP Next: Chapter 4 Onion**


	4. Chapter 4 - Onion

**CHAPTER 4 - ONION**

Monday evening was cool and humid-free. It was one of those evenings that made children want to stay out all night catching lightning bugs instead of hurrying home to wash-up and go to bed.

Jack, on the other hand, was definitely in a hurry to get home.

"We've got a slight problem", he said worriedly when he arrived inside the row house.

A startled Elizabeth practically jumped off the couch when she heard her voice. She bent down and gathered the school papers that she had suddenly dropped onto the floor when he had spoken.

"You scared me", she said with a shake of her head. "You need to give me some warning before you sneak up on me."

"I just came from the Café'" he said hurriedly. "People are talking."

"Everyone's getting suspicious, aren't they?" Elizabeth asked with a frown on her otherwise pretty face. "They probably think I've gone off the deep end. That everything with your death and finding out that I was pregnant was too much and I'm in some type of delirium."

She and Jack had been had been together for four days. Four wonderful days. And while Elizabeth couldn't say that life was perfect - obviously it couldn't be perfect when her husband didn't have a human form -, it was a vast improvement over the previous few weeks.

The only glitch – other than Jack's ghostly form - was that she suspected people in town had been whispering about her.

She knew that her students thought her behavior was odd when she kept getting side-tracked at school, and she couldn't very well tell them that Jack was talking to her - and telling her that some of her lesson plans were boring. She was also pretty sure that Mr. Yost thought she was scatterbrained because the other day, having forgotten that Jack was actually dead, she had asked for man's boot polish at the mercantile. And yesterday, the man at the livery had given her an odd look when she began giggling and telling Jack to stop blowing in her ear, and then she had to pretend she was talking to the horse even though his nostrils were nowhere near her head.

"Some women – Florence, Dottie, Abigail, Rosemary- are on the way over here to see you. They think something's wrong with you. They've noticed that you've been happy," Jack explained as he looked out the window. "Way too happy."

"I have been happy. I've been happy ever since you showed up."

"You're not supposed to be so happy."

"I can't help it," wailed Elizabeth. "You make me happy!"

"Dottie saw you laughing outside the school house."

"That's your fault," Elizabeth accused him. "You told that joke about the bear and the honeycomb."

"She thinks that your laughing was a form of hysteria."

"It wasn't hysteria," she scowled. "I was laughing at a joke."

"They don't know that!" Jack cried out as he worried what would happen if the townspeople became too inquisitive. "And Florence told the others that she saw you smiling and singing while you hung up the laundry on the clothes line."

"What's wrong with that? It was a beautiful sunny day."

"You're supposed to be in mourning!" Jack reminded her.

"I can't control the weather!"

She pulled back in surprise as an interesting thought suddenly came to her. "Can _you_ control the weather?"

"Who do I look like?! Mother Nature?!" he exclaimed in exasperation. "No, I can't control the weather! I can't even touch my wife when I want to!"

Elizabeth sat on the couch pondering the situation. "Let's remain calm. Maybe it's not so bad. They saw me laughing and singing. That's not so bad. I'll just explain that even though I am still terribly sad, I am hopeful for the future. And the weather was so beautiful that I felt like singing."

"There was last night," Jack said with a grimace. "Someone saw you through the window and told Dottie, who just told the other ladies. She told them that you were talking to yourself. Laughing and smiling. All happy like."

"Oh man, I should have closed the drapes," Elizabeth lamented as she thought about the recent romantic dinner.

Last night, she had set the table with a vase of flowers and two candles in tall beautiful silver candlesticks. She had even used her lace wedding veil as the tablecloth, and had served grape juice in a champagne glass. The evening had been wonderful – well, as wonderful as it could be between a wife and her ghost husband.

Having only touched each other on occasional fleeting moments, and unable to figure out how to do it when they wanted, they had instead spent hours talking. It reminded Elizabeth of when they had first courted and had long conversations about their lives. Jack had the ability to be romantic one moment, intellectually stimulating the next, and have her laughing the next.

Of course, right now, he was making her worry.

"So I'm happy", she said with a nervous shrug. "What can they do about it? Nothing. And I'll try to act less happy in the future."

"They want to send you to see a psychiatrist in Calgary. They're planning on having Carson send a telegram to someone he knows", Jack said as he paced the floor.

"A psychiatrist?! For Pete's sake! I'm not looney. I'm just seeing my dead husband."

"They don't know that. And if you tell them that, they'll definitely think that you're looney. You could lose your job."

"My job?" Her eyes got wide at the thought of being fired.

"Yeah. Florence was going on and on about how even though she likes you, if you're unstable, she doesn't want you anywhere near the students. That's why they want to _observe_ you."

"They're on their way here? Now?! The ladies?!"

"To see how you are doing. They want to make sure that you're properly dealing with everything. Dottie says maybe you're in some kind of denial."

"I have to look sad," Elizabeth realized with a start. "I can't lose my job and be sent to Calgary! I have to look sorrowful! In mourning! Like I've been crying!"

"I agree. Hurry up," Jack urged. "Look sad!"

Elizabeth bent her head down and anxiously put her hands in her hair. Moving them about, she messed up her normally neat style. Making a frowning face, she lifted her head and turned in the direction of Jack's voice. "How's this?"

"Awful. The only think you look upset about is that your hair is sloppy."

"What am I supposed to do?!" she asked fretfully.

"I don't know. Maybe slap your cheeks to make them red and flustered like you've been sobbing," he suggested.

Elizabeth slapped her face. "Ouch, that hurt."

"Enough to make you cry?"

"No, but enough to make me want to slap you for suggesting it," she retorted dryly.

"Think of something sad. Quickly! We need tears!"

"What?!"

"I don't know! Anything!" he yelled as he moved away from the window.

"Like I'm a widow, pregnant, and my husband is a ghost!" she irritably yelled back at him.

"Don't get mad at me. Let's just get you crying."

Jack's voice sounded farther away and Elizabeth realized that he had gone into the kitchen.

"Here, catch."

An onion came flying through the air at her.

Elizabeth reacted without thinking and caught the sphere before it landed on the floor.

"How did you do that?" she asked in astonishment.

"I have no idea! I just picked it up and threw it" a bewildered Jack replied quickly. "No time to think about it now. Just start slicing the onion. It will make you cry."

"You can touch an onion to throw it but you can't touch me to unbutton my blouse," she said disagreeably.

"Not exactly my proudest moment last night. We can discuss that another time. Get some tears going! They'll be here any minute."

"Just thinking about how you apparently have more of an attachment to a vegetable than to me kind of makes me want to cry," she muttered.

"Start slicing!"

 **Up Next: Chapter 5 Tea Time**

 **Dear Readers: Thanks for your reviews! Some of you have mentioned that this story is "weird". I have to agree with you; it is.** **😊 (Like all my woolenslipper stories, my mind tends to go in some very unusual but hopefully fun places.)**


	5. Chapter 5 - Tea Time

**CHAPTER 5 – TEA TIME**

When she heard the knock on the door, Elizabeth quickly shoved the knife and onion slices into a dishtowel and threw the bundle into the icebox.

She lowered her lips into a frown, took a deep breath, and went to greet her visitors.

She and Jack had both agreed that she needed to present the image of a grieving widow or the town would have serious questions about her sanity, especially given that everyone within a hundred miles knew how much Jack and Elizabeth had loved each other. A cheerful Elizabeth, this close to Jack's demise, was sure to raise suspicion. As it apparently had already done.

Elizabeth had succeeded in getting her eyes to well up with tears after following Jack's instructions to not only slice the onion but rub some by her eyelids.

"You have got to be kidding me?" she had asked when he had made the suggestion. "Aren't I crying enough?"

"You look like you've been slicing an onion for soup or something. Not like you've spent the afternoon grieving the only man you've ever loved."

"The only man I've ever loved is telling me to rub a raw onion on my eyelids", she had muttered but she did it anyway.

Now with stinging red eyes, she turned in Jack's direction, whispered that she loved him, and opened the front door.

"Let's do this." he said encouragingly.

* * *

Abigail, carrying a basket of pastries, was the first to walk in the doorway, quickly followed by the other three women. Elizabeth tried her best to maintain a sorrowful face as the women eyed her warily.

"You seem . . . sad," Dottie noted in surprise when she saw Elizabeth's face.

The owner of the town's dress shop couldn't decide if it was appropriate for her to be grateful that Elizabeth was sad. It was certainly better than thinking that the town's school teacher was crazy.

"Oh, I'm fine," Elizabeth said weakly. She wiped a tear away and pretended that she was trying to hide it. "It still gets to me. You know. The enormity of everything."

"We brought some pastries to snack on. We thought maybe you could use the company. You seem to be . . . preoccupied lately," Abigail said gently when she finally thought of a possible word to use which wouldn't offend Elizabeth.

"You know how it is," Elizabeth replied sadly as she motioned for the women to take a seat. "The sadness. I just can't seem to stop crying."

"Really?" Florence asked in surprise.

The other women gave Florence a stern warning look before turning their attention back to Elizabeth.

"Yes. Cry, cry, cry. That's all I seem to do lately. I'm sorry you have to see me like this." Elizabeth motioned towards her tear stained cheeks.

"You seemed . . . happy earlier", Florence said hesitantly. "The last few days."

"No, I'm sad. Very sad." Elizabeth sighed and hung her head down. "Some days I'm not sure I can even get out of bed."

"I think that's enough, Elizabeth. Don't overdo it," Jack spoke out.

"You just have seemed so happy," Dottie cautiously noted. "Quite a few times."

"Oh, I try to pretend I am. I read somewhere that if you fake it, it will happen," Elizabeth responded with a sorrowful look as she tried to ignore Jack's voice.

"Fake it?" Dottie questioned.

"I know exactly what you mean," Rosemary said knowledgeably. "It's just like acting. If we pretend enough – act well enough – we _become_ the character. We feel the character's pain, hope, energy. We are the character."

"You've been _pretending_ to be happy so that eventually you'll be happy?" a somewhat skeptical Florence asked Elizabeth.

Elizabeth kept her head down and nodded.

"Uh, oh. They're giving each other odd looks," Jack informed her.

At Jack's words, Elizabeth looked up and caught the women hurriedly looking back towards her.

"How about I get some tea for everyone?" she announced pleasantly, and then quickly remembered that she was supposed to be sad. "It will give me something to do," she added somberly.

* * *

"Why did you invite them to stay for tea?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Elizabeth hissed under her breath when Jack questioned her. "They're concerned about me."

"I thought we were going to write a letter to my ma and then go fishing before it gets too dark. Couldn't you have come up with an excuse?"

"Like what? My dead husband wants me to write a letter to his mother and then take me fishing?" she responded mockingly as she filled the tea kettle with water.

She placed the kettle on the stove and then opened a cupboard and took out some tea bags.

"Go see what they're saying," she whispered as she kept her back turned away from the parlor.

"Did you say something, Elizabeth?" Abigail called out from the couch.

"I was just asking if anyone wants honey in it," she hurriedly replied over her shoulder.

* * *

The women sat among each other. Politely sipping their tea and eating their pastries on plates which Elizabeth had brought over on a tray.

"Elizabeth," Abigail said gently. "We are all just a little worried that maybe you've been lonely. . . . In the evenings. Perhaps you'd like to come stay with me?"

"While you were making tea, they were talking again about you having a candlelit dinner by yourself." Jack's loud voice came from next to Elizabeth, causing her to rattle her teacup.

 _Darn it_ , she thought as tea sloshed onto her saucer. _Remain calm._

"Abigail, that is so sweet of you. But really, I'm fine by myself," Elizabeth said as she steadied the cup and hoped that she wouldn't start to perspire from nerves.

It was all a bit much for her. Having an unseen Jack talk to her while she was being interrogated by the women.

 _I wonder if this is how Joan of Arc felt when she was on trial._

 _She was stupid enough to admit she heard voices. Look where that got her._

 _Burned at the stake,_ Elizabeth thought ruefully.

"Jack wouldn't want you to be by yourself in this house. He does want you to be happy again . . . some day eventually", Rosemary said. "Until then, you shouldn't be alone."

It was obvious from the tone in Rosemary's voice that she didn't think Elizabeth should be happy just yet.

Elizabeth was only half paying attention as she contemplated how the 14 year-old French saint who had raised an army could have better handled her medieval situation when she realized Rosemary was waiting for a response .

"Yes, I know. He wants me to be happy again. Perhaps I should start courting someone?" Elizabeth said without thinking. "Do you know someone?"

 _Darn, wrong thing to say!_ she realized when the women got wide-eyed. _What did I just say?!_

 _Did I say I wanted to start courting again?!_

"Not this soon!" Jack's booming voice caused Elizzabeth to jump in her seat.

Rosemary blinked in surprise at Elizabeth's odd answer and movement.

"Elizabeth, I meant that maybe you should eat dinner each night with one of us _ladies_ ," she offered as she motioned to the other women.

"Yes, yes. Of course, that's what you meant," Elizabeth nodded hurriedly. "I thought you were -"

 _What did I think?!_

 _What did I think?!_

"You thought she was making light of your sorrow!" Jack offered quickly. "You were being sarcastic."

"I thought you were being a bit insensitive to my sorrow," Elizabeth finished her sentence with a doleful expression. "I didn't mean to be so flippant. It's just that I'm so sad that I'm sometimes too sensitive."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown. If Jack visiting her as a ghost hadn't driven her crazy, trying to pretend that he wasn't in the room with her and the other ladies would.

"Elizabeth, one of the lumbar men, Mr. Spricer, was dropping off some paperwork to Lee a few nights back and he thought he saw you maybe . . . . talking to yourself." Rosemary's voice trailed off.

 _Why is everyone in this town so nosy!_

"And to be quite honest, Cody thought he heard you talking to yourself at school," Abigail said almost apologetically.

"I've been doing some therapy that I read about when I was in Hamilton with my family," Elizabeth answered.

 _Therapy? Why the heck did I say that?_

"Therapy?!" Jack exclaimed. If she could have seen him, Elizabeth was pretty sure that Jack was shaking his head in disbelief.

"Therapy?" Dottie questioned.

"Um. Yes. Another Mountie widow told me about it and -"

"I thought you said you read about it?" Rosemary interrupted.

 _Darn it._

"She's right," Jack noted. "You said you read about it."

"Yes, a woman told me about it and then gave me an article on it to read," Elizabeth fumbled. "It's a unique form of therapy where a widow pretends to have a conversation with her late husband. To say all the things she didn't get to say before. Like how much she loves him and appreciated him. But how he shouldn't talk so loud when she's trying to think and have tea," Elizabeth blabbered.

"And you know, the usual stuff," Elizabeth finished with a dismissive wave of her hand.

The other women looked at her in bewilderment.

"This is a type of therapy?" Dottie asked skeptically. "Talking to someone who's not there?"

Elizabeth took a sip of tea and nodded. "Hmm mmm. Yes."

"And it's popular?"

"Oh yes" Elizabeth nodded earnestly. "Very popular among Mountie widows."

She winced when she thought she heard a slap. She was pretty sure Jack had just slapped his hand to his forehead but she wasn't sure.

"What about that dancing fighting thing you were doing?" an unconvinced Florence questioned her.

"Dancing fighting thing?" Elizabeth asked. _What the heck is she talking about?_

"She means when we were trying to touch each other. One of the boys in town saw you through the window," Jack answered quickly from his position next to Elizabeth when he saw the confusion on her face. "You were moving your hands around trying to feel me."

 _We have got to learn to close the drapes!_

"Tommy Nelson saw you making some very odd motions the other night. He wasn't sure if you were pretending to dance with someone or perhaps fight someone. He said the whole thing was very odd. He told his mother who of course told me because I'm concerned about you,"Florence explained.

"That's . . . um. . . therapy also. Highly recommended in the big cities these days."

"Therapy also?"

"Elizabeth," Jack said cautiously as he realized Elizabeth was starting to veer a little too far astray. Actually way far astray.

"It's called Tai Chi," a frazzled Elizabeth said as she remembered a magazine article she had recently seen. She realized she was grasping at straws at this point but she couldn't stop herself. It was all too nerve-wracking.

If Elizabeth had thought being married to a Mountie was hard, she now knew that being married to a ghost was ten times harder.

"Tai what?" the women asked in unison.

"What the hell is Tai Chi?" Jack blurted out.

Elizabeth tried to steady her hands which were causing the tea cup to rattle on the saucer.

"Tai Chi. It's Chinese. Ladies Home Journal had an interview in last month's edition with a missionary who learned it in China. Before the Boxer Rebellion. Although, I suppose that didn't turn out very well for missionaries, now did it? All those deaths," she said with a pensive sad shake of her head.

 _What the heck am I saying?!_

"But I practiced it once. Tai Chi. It's very soothing. Of course, I'm probably not doing it correctly because I just read the one article and I don't have a teacher. And I'm not Chinese. Although I don't suppose I need to be. Chinese that is. I probably just need more practice. I'm still very sad. You basically dance and fight by yourself. Totally by yourself. No one there. You don't even imagine that anyone else is there. You just realize that you're by yourself. Alone. Forever."

"Alone" she repeated for added emphasis.

Elizabeth again felt herself nervously blabbering but couldn't do anything but continue. "I should probably due it every night. It's supposed to help with sadness and healing."

"How?" a flabbergasted Florence asked. She, along with the other ladies, looked totally taken back by Elizabeth's explanation.

 _How? How?! How the heck should I know how?!_

"You dance with your good thoughts and fight off your sad thoughts. By yourself. In Chinese," she hastily replied.

Elizabeth had no idea what she was talking about. She had actually only read the first paragraph of the article and then rolled up the magazine and used it to keep a pair of boots straight while they were stored in the closet.

"It helps with sadness and healing?" Abigail asked. She was giving Elizabeth an odd look.

 _Oh man, I hate lying to Abigail._

"Yes, it's very ancient. Helps the Chinese all the time," Elizabeth said knowingly. "More tea anyone?" she said brightly as she stood up.

 **Up next: Chapter 6** \- **Lampyridae**

 **Dear Readers: To Linda and everyone else that had a bad day, to Susie with the best last name who wished for a chapter today, to Y who loves the banter, and to everyone else, I hope this chapter makes you smile. Thanks for your reviews!**

 **To J.S. and my Reversal readers, I haven't forgotten that story. I was actually in the middle of the next chapter for that story when I got the silly idea for this one and got side-tracked. Sorry. I'll get back to it soon.**


	6. Chapter 6 Lampyridae

**Dear readers: I hope you liked the last chapter of tea time. Tea's not over just yet. :)**

 **CHAPTER 6 -** **Lampyridae**

"This is exhausting," Elizabeth complained in a whisper. She stood in front of the kitchen counter and pretended to busy herself with the tea kettle.

"Tell them you're tired. Get them to leave before things get any worse."

Jack stood next to her and tried to put his arm around her shoulder but his limb glided through her.

"I don't think it can get any worse. I'm making an idiot of myself. If they didn't think I was in need of psychiatric help before, they definitely think I am now. I have to do something, or they'll send Carson for me before morning."

"Okay, let's stay calm. Just go out there and slowly drink your cup of tea."

"If I drink any more tea, they'll have to mop me off of the floor."

Elizabeth paused a second before continuing. "Maybe you should leave," she said with a slight grimace.

"Leave?"

"Just for a bit. Or stay here in the kitchen."

"Why?"

"Its just a little hard to concentrate when you're also in the room and I can hear you but they can't. It just seems so crowded and confusing with all the voices."

Elizabeth, remembering that Jack could be sensitive, had used her kindest voice.

"I'm bothering you? Me being around is bothering you?"

"Just a little! A very little. Very very very little. And just with the ladies here."

"Oh, okay," Jack said in a bit of surprise. "If that's what you want."

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"No problem. I'll stay out of the way. Let them do the talking. Just try to say as little as possible. And if you have to, feign a headache and excuse yourself."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement, took a deep sigh, and carried the tea kettle back to the visitors.

* * *

As she sat down on the sofa, Elizabeth thought about the slightly wounded sound in Jack's voice when she had asked him not to join her in the parlor.

 _He sounded hurt._

 _I'm the only one he has to talk to. He's probably been really lonely._

Elizabeth picked up the wooden dipper from the honey pot. She held it over her cup and allowed the thick amber substance to cascade into her tea.

 _He would do anything for me and I asked him to stay away_ , she thought with a frown.

 _What kind of horrible wife am I?_

 _I wonder if he really left._

 _I hope not._

The tea was wonderfully warm and smooth. It should have been soothing, but it wasn't. Elizabeth's face showed her distress as she thought about Jack leaving.

 _What if he doesn't come back?!_

 _I can't lose him again!_

"Elizabeth, are you okay?" Abigail questioned. "I asked if you were thinking about going to the church picnic this weekend."

"I guess," Elizabeth said but she couldn't hide the worry in her voice. "I was just thinking about Jack. About the last thing I said to him."

"I'm sure you said something very loving," Abigail said supportively.

Elizabeth shook her head. "I didn't. I told him he was crowding me too much."

The women looked startled and gave each other worried glances. There was a stunned silence except for Florence who had sputtered in her tea.

"I didn't want him to go. Not really. I just thought it would be easier," Elizabeth said with a sigh. She pulled apart a croissant and fingered a small piece while oblivious to the stares of the other ladies. "I am so grateful for my time with him. I don't ever want to take it for granted."

"We know. You didn't expect the last time you were with him that he wouldn't come home," Abigail said soothingly. She placed her hand on Elizabeth's arm.

"I didn't", Elizabeth said earnestly. "I don't want him gone."

"Of course, you don't. No one does."

"But what if he doesn't know that? What if he thinks I want him gone because he was distracting me?"

Florence leaned closer to Dottie to whisper in her ear. "What is she talking about? What was he doing that was distracting her so much that she'd want him gone so soon after their wedding?"

Dottie's eyes got wider and she whispered back, "Maybe something in the bedroom?! Crowding her too much? Maybe that's another word for . .. ."

Elizabeth ignored the whispered voices as she spoke intently to Abigail. "He didn't want to leave and I told him it was okay. That'd I'd be fine."

"Elizabeth, the two of you had no idea what would happen. You can't blame myself for what happened," Abigail told her.

"He was hurt," Elizabeth said with a frown. "I know he was."

The women looked uneasy. "I'm sure it happened very quickly," a pained Rosemary said quietly.

"What does it matter if it happened quickly or not?!" Elizabeth wailed. "It still happened. I encouraged him to go!"

"You supported him. That's what a good wife does," Rosemary said encouragingly.

"I drove him away," Elizabeth countered anxiously. "I said he bothered me."

"I'm sure you had your reasons," Florence said. She sounded uncertain as she wondered what kind of marriage the newlyweds had. She picked up a framed photograph on the end table next to her and suspiciously eyed Jack's handsome face.

"How did he bother her?" Dottie hissed scandalously to Florence, who shrugged and looked towards Elizabeth. She found herself anxious for more information on the newlyweds and what happened on the short honeymoon.

"I wonder where he is now," Elizabeth muttered _._

"Where he IS?" Florence asked in bewilderment and threw worried glances to the other women.

 _Darn, did I say that aloud?_

"Right. Yes," Elizabeth said quickly. "I just meant I wonder if he's in . . . . heaven or in –"

 _Damn, why did I say that? Where else would he be?!_

"or in HEAVEN" Abigail finished firmly.

"Why in the world would she think he might be in hell?!" a stunned Dottie whispered loudly to Florence. "Those are the only two choices. Heaven or Hell!"

"Why would he be in hell?" an equally stunned Florence asked. "What happened on their honeymoon?!"

"He isn't in Hell!" Abigail declared firmly as she glared at Florence.

"She doesn't think he's in heaven! Why does she think he might not be in heaven?!" Florence glanced at the photographs of Jack again and her mind suddenly decided his eyes perhaps looked more seductively sinister than friendly.

"He's got to be in heaven or hell," Dottie said knowingly. "One or the other."

"He's in heaven. This is Jack we're talking about," Rosemary declared.

"I'm not in heaven or in hell. I was in the kitchen" Jack's voice came across the room.

Elizabeth jerked her head in Jack's direction. "I – I", she sputtered and then took a deep sigh of relief.

 _Oh Thank goodness, he didn't leave._

A small grateful smile crossed her face but she quickly hid it with her napkin. "I was so worried that I wouldn't have him with me again," she said. Her words clearly intended for Jack's ears. "He needs to know that he is everything to me."

"He's always with you, Elizabeth," Abigail said as she took ahold of Elizabeth's hand.

 _In more ways than you realize._

* * *

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth felt like things were going much better.

Her visitors, worried that Elizabeth might succumb to tears - or hysteria - if they subjected her to much more scrutiny, were now doing most of the talking. Hoping that Elizabeth would be comforted, and learn from their own experiences.

Elizabeth kept her mouth shut as much as possible and tried to remember to nod appropriately whenever one of the ladies said something that seemed to need her agreement.

As she sat quietly and listened to the women around her, she surprisingly found herself remembering her first week in Hope Valley, which was then more appropriately called Coal Valley.

Five years ago, she had been nervously meeting some of these women for the first time and had been subjected to their haughty inspection. She now remembered vividly how they had looked scornfully at her in her dusty clothes and disheveled hat. They hadn't believed a word she had said about being able to teach their children and last in an isolated coal town. Only Abigail had been willing to give her a try.

Now they looked at her with the same scrutiny, but she remained quiet and subdued and allowed the other ladies to feel nurturing. Luckily, they remembered that she was in a vulnerable situation, and they allowed her space. Preferring to talk about their own lives and hope she picked up on their hints that life would get better.

Yes, everything was going much better, Elizabeth thought,

Jack kept his mouth shut and bit his tongue when Elizabeth was slow to nod whenever one of the ladies said something that seemed to need her agreement.

As he listened to the women around her, he couldn't help but feel guilty that Elizabeth was being subjected to their scrutiny. This was all his fault. He had stupidly gotten himself killed. He still wasn't sure how exactly he had managed to let that happened, but it had, and now Elizabeth was stuck picking up the pieces. He was determined not to make her do it without him.

He found himself remembering the early days when they had first met each other. She had been nervous then, but she had been tough. Resilient. He loved that about her.

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going much better now that the town ladies were doing much of the talking and allowing Elizabeth to simply listen.

Yes, everything was going much better.

Until the lightning bug flew into the parlor.

* * *

Elizabeth was absentmindedly picking a blueberry out of a half-eaten muffin when she saw the bug. It was flying from the edge of a picture frame on a wall to her desk, where it landed on her English textbook.

The other women, oblivious to the newest visitor, continued talking.

. . . . and then I saw the most beautiful berries . .. .

. . .The lumber business . . . . .

. . . . the price of eggs . . . .

. . . . My dress shop can't make money if the fabrics are delivered . . . .

Elizabeth watched as the lighting bug lifted off her book and flew to her table just a foot away from her. It remained for only a second before flying off.

 _Lampyridae_.

She remembered the scientific name for the family of insects. _Firefly. Lighting bug. Lampyridae_.

It was a cute name she decided. _Like a little lamp._

Florence and Dottie were now droning on about raising children but Elizabeth had grown bored with their conversation long ago. The firefly with its elongated body and flashing endpoint was more interesting.

 _It must have flown in earlier when I opened the door. Such interesting creatures. I love the way they light up at night to attract a mate._

 _Like Jack lighting the way to the school house when he proposed._

 _He was wooing me like a firefly woos the one it desires._

 _How romantic. . . . And scientific,_ she thought with a tiny secret smile.

Elizabeth watched the insect land on the edge of the couch and then take flight again. The top flaps of its body opening up to allow its wings to move furiously as it circled the room.

It flitted about as it looked for an exit back to nature.

Faster and faster.

Until it stopped.

Seemingly in midair.

The insect's flaps closed as it rested its tired body. On . . . something.

"Isn't that odd?" Rosemary said curiously as she caught sight of the insect. "That bug stopped flying but it's just floating in mid-air."

Elizabeth's eyes got wide when she realized why the insect had stopped flapping.

 _It's landed on Jack! It can feel Jack!_

 _Oh no! How do I explain that?!_

"It's still flapping its wings," Elizabeth hurriedly lied. "It's just so fast that you can't see them."

"No, I don't think it is," Rosemary observed as she strained forward to look at it more closely.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. I can see them moving from here," Elizabeth said anxiously. She wrung her hands together. "More tea anyone?"

"No. No, it's not," Rosemary replied. She continued to stare at the motionless bug and ignored the offer for more tea. "It's not moving. How odd. Look. It's just resting in mid air."

And that was when Elizabeth saw it.

Jack's hand.

It was the oddest sight. His disembodied hand seemingly floating in the air as it quickly brushed away the bug from his invisible shoulder, sending the firefly hurtling across the room.

"Hand!" Elizabeth screamed out in shock.

Her tea cup fell from her hand and crashed to the floor, shattering into pieces.

"What? What?" Jack asked in astonishment when he saw Elizabeth looking in his direction.

"Hand", she repeated with a gulp. Her heart was racing.

The other women were staring at her in bewilderment but all she cared about was that she was seeing a part of her husband.

"You see my hand?!" Jack's voice was a mixture of disbelief and excitement. "You can SEE my hand?!"

Elizabeth simply nodded in shock and then watched as her husband's hand disappeared.

Just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

"Can you still see it?!" an invisible Jack eagerly asked.

Elizabeth got down on her knees and with a napkin began soaking up her spilled tea. She shook her head ever so slightly to answer Jack, hoping the women wouldn't notice the movement.

It was a useless hope.

Florence worriedly wondered if she would have to substitute as the town's teacher if Elizabeth was admitted to a hospital – and if electronic shock therapy would be used on Elizabeth.

Rosemary was trying to pretend that Jack's widow, who had earlier questioned if he was in heaven or hell, hadn't just screamed out an irrelevant body part.

Abigail was thinking about the cost of buying a train ticket to accompany Elizabeth back to Hamilton for some obviously needed rest and pampering.

It was Dottie who spoke first.

"She's having a seizure!" a gobstopped Dottie yelled out as she watched Elizabeth's head movements. "An epileptic seizure! Look at her head. First moving up and down and then sideways!"

"Elizabeth, do you need a hand? Is that what you were asking for? Are you ill?" Abigail asked as she got down on the floor on her knees and looked at Elizabeth.

"No, I'm fine", Elizabeth said anxiously as she began picking up the broken pieces of china.

"Are you sure?"

Elizabeth nodded furiously. "Just a silly broken cup. Be careful everyone. I don't want you to cut yourself."

"Why did you yell 'hand'?" a worried Abigail asked patiently and carefully as if dealing with a wounded animal who might also be rabid.

 _Why did I yell hand?! Because I saw a floating hand in my parlor! I can't say that!_

 _Why did I yell hand?!_

"Because of your pastries!" Elizabeth babbled as she wracked her brain for an answer.

"My pastries?" Abigail shook her head as if she had misheard.

Elizabeth gave up cleaning the mess. She sprawled unladylike on the floor and looked at the women who all appeared shell-shocked.

"I was eating the last of my blueberry muffin and thought how wonderful it was. Don't you all agree, ladies?" Elizabeth asked with fake enthusiasm as she looked at the other women.

Elizabeth dropped her wet tea-soaked napkin onto her skirt and began clapping frantically. She nodded encouragingly to the other women.

"A big hand for Abigail!" she zealously announced as she continued smacking her hands together. "Delicious pastries!"

* * *

Two minutes later, Elizabeth locked the door after hurriedly ushering out the women. She had somehow convinced them that she needed alone time to perhaps do some Tai Chi. Having visitors after a long day had simply been too emotional for her, she had explained as she profusely thanked them for stopping by.

"You saw me!" Jack yelled the second the door was closed.

Elizabeth leaned her back against the wood and nodded. "I saw your hand," she exclaimed happily.

Before she knew what was happening, she was feeling him. She couldn't see Jack but she could feel him. His strong arms around her. His chest as he pulled her into an embrace. His chin as it lay across her shoulder. His warmth.

"I wish I could see your face," she whispered.

At the same time, they both moved to kiss each other's lips.

And that's when it happened.

She stopped feeling him.

"NO!" she wailed when her hands, which had been holding him, simply fell in the air.

Jack cursed bitterly as the moment he had been desiring for weeks evaporated.

* * *

"It must be when we don't think about it too much," Jack reasoned as he and Elizabeth sat on the couch.

The couple had thought over the first time she had heard him sigh, the time he had warned her of the snake, the soft feeling of his hand through her face, how he had caught her when she had stumbled, the onion being thrown, the hand brushing off the fire fly, and now him rushing into her arms.

"I think you're right," Elizabeth nodded agreeably. "It needs to come naturally. We can't try too hard."

"Okay. Let's just concentrate on not trying to touch each other or you seeing me. We just have to make it instinctive. Nonchalant. Casual," Jack suggested.

"We can do this. We just have to take our time. Love is patient. Just like we've always said," Elizabeth told him as she tried to convince herself that it was fine that she could no longer see or touch her husband. "We can do this. Naturally. Casually. No pressure."

* * *

The couple spent close to an hour trying to touch each other without _trying_ to touch each other. It was useless.

She couldn't see him.

They couldn't feel each other.

Finally, the disappointed couple gave up and went to bed.

* * *

The cool breeze blew in through the open window in the bedroom making the curtains billow.

A sleeping Elizabeth, wearing her attractive but thin blue nightgown, shivered from the chillness of the air.

Jack was asleep next to her but a small part of him sensed her movement. He moved over a few inches and wrapped his body around hers to warm her.

She snuggled her back into his chest, and then squished one of her legs between his for extra warmth, layering their legs. Hers. His. Hers. His.

Jack rested his chin near her shoulder as he enjoyed the feeling of her body inhaling and exhaling as they silently slept. His arm covered her protectively.

If someone were to describe their positions, they wouldn't say that the couple was spooning. Spoons were cold and hard.

Elizabeth and Jack were more like a piece of yarn.

Soft and separate pieces of something now tangled together into one.

 **UP NEXT: CHAPTER 7**


	7. Chapter 7 - The Homesite

**CHAPTER 7 – The HOMESITE**

Elizabeth reached inside the wicker picnic hamper and took out the sandwich which was wrapped in a napkin. She removed the cloth, laid it on her lap to protect her skirt, and then took a bite of her lunch.

When she had told Abigail that she was going to the homesite for lunch, her best friend had eyed her with apprehension, but Elizabeth had insisted that she would be fine.

It had been three days since the disastrous tea at the row house. Since then, Elizabeth had done her best to appear normal and escape the concerned glances of the people of Hope Valley. The easiest way was just to avoid people whenever possible. And the easiest way to do that was to take long walks away from town.

She had also been lucky that Carson had gone out of town to tend to several families who were sick with the chicken pox more than twenty miles away.

 _Not that its lucky that people are sick, but well, actually in this case it is,_ she had quickly realized when she had heard that the town's doctor had left Hope Valley the same day as the firefly incident. _Thank goodness for chicken pox!_

"I love it up here," Jack said as he looked at the valley below them. "It's absolutely beautiful."

"I agree," Elizabeth mumbled as she swallowed a bite of her sandwich. "Do you think I should keep building the home? Hire someone to do the work?"

Elizabeth and Jack hadn't talked much about the future. Preferring to spend their time talking about the present or the past, they had mostly avoided the uneasy question about what would come next. Where a pregnant wife and a ghostly husband go in their relationship was a topic they figured didn't have a solid answer.

"I'm not sure yet. I've been thinking about that. It might be hard for you out here," Jack answered pensively.

"I won't be scared or lonely. I'll have you with me."

"I know. But I won't be able to carry water, chop wood, fix things. The most I've been able to do so far is toss an onion. People will expect you to stay in town. It's easier for a single woman there."

"I'm not a single woman. I am married to you and don't you forget it."

Jack gave a small smile but Elizabeth couldn't see him. "No chance of that."

"I want our baby to grow up here. Just like you planned. With a big front porch and one on the back too," Elizabeth said enthusiastically. She spoke into the air in the direction of Jack's voice. "There's the money from the Mounties, and my family money. I can pay off the rest of the loan and hire some builders. Maybe be in the house before the baby comes."

"I don't know," Jack said skeptically.

"It might be a good experience for me. And it will be easier for us to be married if we're living here rather than in town with nosy neighbors."

"You won't mind being known as the old widow Thornton who lives on the hill and talks to her dead husband?"

Elizabeth swallowed another bite of her sandwich and shook her head. "I'll be known as the glamorous independent working mom who lives in an adorable house high on the hill and can milk a cow, gather eggs, and prepare a class lesson."

"So far, the adorable house is just a floor and a few framing studs. You've only milked a cow once. I don't think you've ever gathered eggs, and if you keep talking to your dead husband, your lesson plans might end up being written from a padded cell."

"Do you have a better suggestion?" she challenged her invisible husband. "Because I want to live here. In our home."

"If I can just figure out a way to come back to you- fully. Real flesh and blood that others can see and hear. Even if I look different. I've been thinking that maybe –"

"Maybe what?"

"Okay, bear with me. I know this sounds crazy but I wonder if there's a way for me to –" Jack paused. "Never mind."

"No. Tell me."

Jack reached out and gently ran his hand along Elizabeth's face.

She smiled when she felt something. She couldn't see Jack's movement, but she felt the tenderness on her cheek.

Since they had woken up one morning in each other's arms, the times they could feel each other had been come more frequent. Still not as frequent as they would like or as substantial as if Jack had a solid body, but there were at least four or five moments a day when they felt warmth and a faint touch.

"You touched my face," she said as he removed his hand.

"I did," he agreed with his own smile. "Give me a little more time to think about something before I tell you. I don't want to get our hopes up."

" _When_ are you going to tell me?" she questioned. She took a sip of lemonade from her canteen and looked at him expectantly.

"I'm not sure yet. It may take a few months. Or longer. Forget about it for now. I'll look into it some more and then we'll talk about it."

"Jack –"

"Trust me," he said in a voice that made her realize she would trust him no matter what he told her.

She would trust him with their future. No matter how long it took.

Okay, that part wasn't true, she realized. She wasn't going to wait forever for him to come back to the world before she pestered him some more.

* * *

The couple lay on their backs next to each other on the blanket which Elizabeth had brought and looked up at the sky.

It was relaxing to watch the scattered fat white clouds move across the otherwise blue sky. Every so often, a cloud would block out the sun and the couple would feel the brief coolness of the shade. A few seconds later, the cloud would have moved past, and Jack and Elizabeth were once again bathed in warm sunshine.

Just like an ordinary couple, they talked about their jobs.

Elizabeth told Jack about the students who were trying their best to behave for their recently widowed teacher. And about the students who despite their best efforts couldn't seem to behave. There was also an upcoming teacher inspection and evaluation by the territorial School Board that she wasn't too worried about, and there were some new students who were expected in the next few weeks.

Jack, knowing that Elizabeth enjoyed her work despite him finding it utterly boring at times, had decided two days ago to continue with his Mountie work because he really didn't have much of anything else to do. As he had explained to Elizabeth, he would do the rounds he used to do, and, if he came across anything which needed the attention of law enforcement, he would let Elizabeth know. She would then find a way – without divulging her ghostly companion as her source- to let Bill Avery know of the problem.

Elizabeth was thankful that Jack had found nothing important or illegal yesterday or today. She wasn't sure how she would possibly explain to Bill that she had "stumbled" upon criminal activity or how she had a "hunch" that someone was in need of help. More likely she'd end up being locked up in the jail for being crazy.

So far, Elizabeth was the only human who knew about Jack's presence.

Among other things, Jack had whistled and talked in the schoolhouse, walked with her through town, sung a Mountie song of comradery at the top of his lungs in the crowded saloon, spoken in the presence of Elizabeth's tea time visitors, followed Bill around the jail giving him unnecessary advice, told Lee that his trousers were appallingly ugly, and critically asked Florence why her face always had a pinched look to it.

No one had noticed anything.

* * *

Elizabeth, with the top button of her blouse undone and her sleeves rolled up, now lazily fingered a flower when there was a lull in the couple's conversation. It was a nice lull. Not boredom or a strained silence, but an easy peacefulness between the two.

"What are you thinking?" Jack asked after a few minutes.

"Two things."

"Two? Hmm. Always the busy mind. Okay, tell me the first one."

"I was thinking about when we were in the coal mine. That day was so different from today. All that rain. We came together that day and talked about how we had been given a second chance."

"I think we're on our third chance now," Jack noted dryly.

Elizabeth ignored Jack's wry comment and continued with her memories. "That was the first day we told each other that we loved each other. I had waited so long to hear it."

"Me too."

Elizabeth smiled. "And then we made out. A lot."

"We had kissed before," he reminded her with a curious grin.

"Not that much. I was waiting a long time for that type of kissing," she giggled as she continued to lay on her back and look at the sky. Reliving the day in her mind.

"I'm pretty sure I was waiting longer," he chuckled himself.

"I doubt that," she challenged. "I wondered what it would be like to kiss you the _very first_ day we met."

"I wanted to do a whole lot more than that," he admitted with a laugh. "When we first met in the saloon, I found myself unexplainably drawn to you. And then dinner at Abigail's when your hair was all tousled and you had that snooty attitude. I couldn't get you out of my mind. It kind of surprised the heck out of me –"

"Hold it right there", an affronted Elizabeth ordered. " _Unexplainably_ drawn to me? _Surprised_ you were attracted to me? Like I was some sort of _ANOMALY_?"

Jack laughed. "The sexiest anomaly I ever saw. Now let's change the subject before you get me frustrated. What's the second thing that you were thinking about."

Elizabeth continued to look up at the sky. She paused for a moment before she wistfully told him what she had been thinking. "How I wish your hands were touching my body right now. How good it felt on our honeymoon. On our wedding night."

"You're killing me here. You know that, right?" Jack said with a deep sigh.

"You asked," she retorted with a smirk. "And I can't be _killing_ you. You're already dead."

"Ahh. So, we're going with semantics here."

"I'm an anomaly. I can do whatever I want," she said teasingly.

Jack turned onto his side and propped himself up on one of his bent arms. His legs stretched out his full length.

"I would love to make love to you right now. To have you in my arms. To do what we did after we were married. To be your husband again. In that way. I think you are the most desirable woman I have ever know and I love you. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't make you my wife sooner."

Elizabeth shifted her body onto her side towards Jack's voice. She didn't expect to see anything.

But there he was.

Right there in front of her eyes.

"I see you," she said slowly in awe. You're shimmering."

Her voice was soft as if she didn't want to break the moment. She moved her eyes along his form. "I see _all_ of you."

Jack remained motionless. Too stunned by her words, he didn't speak.

"I see all of you," Elizabeth repeated in a daze.

She reached out her hand to touch him. Slowly. Ever so slowly she moved her hand closer to his body.

Tentatively.

Hopefully.

She placed her palm on his chest and felt his heart beating beneath his shirt.

"It's moving so fast", she said.

Jack lowered his chin and looked at her hand. He chuckled softly and uneasily. "I have to admit I'm a bit nervous here."

"I can feel you," she said quietly as if not believing it was totally true. "I can feel you and see you at the same time."

"What do I look like to you?" he asked worriedly. "The same?"

"Yes. Handsome," she said reassuringly. "A little transparent and shimmery but you're here. I can't believe you have a heartbeat," she said softly in amazement as she kept her hand on his chest and felt a rapid movement.

"I think you have something to do with that."

Their eyes met and they both knew at that moment that for whatever reason, the universe was now on their side.

* * *

"I don't want to say anything," a somewhat scared Jack told her cautiously. "I'm even afraid to move. I don't want to do anything to make myself disappear."

Elizabeth gently ran her fingers along Jack's chest. His arms. His shoulders. His face.

She cupped one of his cheeks in her soft palm and held it there. Looking at him in wonder as if he had stepped out of one of the photographs she kept on her round parlor table. Only this was so much better.

"I'm never letting you go again," she informed him.

"I'm not letting you let me go even if you tried," he replied.

Elizabeth started to move her face closer to his and was anticipating the taste of his mouth when he spoke.

"Damn", Jack said as he saw a movement from over her shoulder. "Someone's coming."

Elizabeth jerked her head around and saw a figure in the distance moving in her direction. "No! This is _our_ time," she complained.

"Hurry up. Let's get out of here," Jack encouraged.

Elizabeth ignored the distant figure who was now waving to her and instead turned to answer Jack.

Her husband was gone. At least his physical form. He had simply evaporated into the air.

She jumped to her feet and quickly began gathering the blanket and shoving it into her basket.

"Hurry! Whoever it is is still heading this way."

"I have to get my shoes!" she answered hurriedly as she stumbled in the grass.

Elizabeth felt Jack grab ahold of one of her arms and she eagerly allowed him to lead her. She clumsily carried her basket in one hand while trying to shove her shoes into it.

"Don't look back," he instructed as they heard someone calling her name.

Elizabeth's legs moved swiftly through the tall grass as she kept pace with Jack's unseen steps.

"Where are we going?"

"How about our coal mine?"

Elizabeth nodded in agreement as they hurried down the slope and out of sight of the distant man who was again calling after her.

The only man she cared about was the invisible one next to her.

 **Up Next: Chapter 8 Coal**


	8. Chapter 8 - Love Echoes

**Chapter 8 LOVE ECHOES**

The abandoned coal mine was chilly and damp compared to the warm sunlit hilltop where Elizabeth and Jack had had their picnic lunch.

Elizabeth shivered as they walked into the darkness.

"Put the blanket around you," Jack suggested when he noticed Elizabeth was affected by the coolness.

She grabbed hold of the blue wool fabric which she had earlier shoved messily into her basket and wrapped it around her shoulders as they walked farther into the mine.

"Better?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"It sounded like Carson calling me at the homesite," she said with a frown.

"I know. I think it was him too. He must have gotten back to town today."

"Do you think he wants to see how I am? No doubt Florence, Dottie, and Rosemary jumped on him the moment he got back. Probably filled his head with talk of me."

"Jack? Did you hear me?" Elizabeth asked when he didn't respond. "Are you still here?"

"Yeah, I heard you. Sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing. It's stupid," he said dismissively. "Let's sit down and see if maybe we can get back to you seeing me. Back to where we were before we were interrupted.

* * *

Elizabeth sat on the rocky ground. Not caring that her skirt was getting smudged with coal dust. She could tell by the closeness of Jack's voice that he was sitting next to her.

"Can you see me?" he asked hopefully.

"Nope. But I think that has to do with the fact that it's dark in here," she teased. "We are in the depths of a coal mine."

"Good point. Do you want to move closer to the entrance where there's more light?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, I like it here. It feels more . . .equal. Like we're just in the dark talking to each other and I shouldn't be expecting to see you."

"Jack." She paused.

"Yeah?"

"Do you wonder why this happened to us? I know we love each other, and you said something about how I said in our wedding vows that it was for eternity, but do you really think that could be it?"

"I've been thinking about that. You know how most people pledge _to death do us part_? Well, we didn't. We didn't say it was just until one of us died. I said that I'm committed to you _absolutely and forever._ Forever. _"_

"And I said that I was giving you my soul for _eternity."_

They both became silent as they remembered their vows. Each wondering if they had possibly accomplished something incredible with their love.

"Nah, can't be that," Jack said dismissively as he shook his head. "Not something as simple as love and our vows."

"You're right," she nodded in agreement. "It makes no logical sense. I've never read anything even remotely like this ever happening in any scientific study."

"And you've read a lot," he noted thoughtfully. Jack had always admired Elizabeth's love of books and her unending quest for knowledge.

"I have," she said agreeably.

The two sat without words in the darkness as they contemplated their situation.

One.

Two.

Three seconds passed.

They each tried to convince themselves that Jack's ghostly form couldn't be due to something as simple as their wedding vows. Was their love that strong?

They thought it was. They hoped it was. But could it really be true?

Four.

Five

Six seconds passed.

Elizabeth continued to think back to their wedding day. Her mind replayed the images. She and Jack had pledged themselves to each other as they stood in front of the school house. In front of their friends, their family, Pastor Frank.

In front of their small world, she had vowed that she was giving her soul to Jack. Her soul.

In turn, it seems that he had made sure that she would always have his soul with her.

"You think?" Jack finally questioned out loud.

Elizabeth looked in the direction of his voice and nodded in near disbelief.

"Wow. Love is pretty powerful," he said in awe.

"I did say that you were my biggest surprise," a bewildered Elizabeth noted.

* * *

"I can't believe he intruded on our picnic," Jack grumbled as the couple compared the cave to the warm sunshine they had left outside. "I'm beginning to like Carson less and less."

"What were you saying about something being stupid earlier?" Elizabeth questioned.

"You'll laugh."

"No. I won't. And since we can't make out because you're back to being all ghost-like, we might as well talk."

"I'm jealous," Jack muttered. "And yes, I know it's stupid. And I know that I wrote that I wanted you to move on after me. But I didn't mean it!"

Elizabeth smiled curiously. "What are you jealous about?"

"Who do you think?"

"Carson?" she asked in astonishment. "For goodness sakes, why?"

Jack, forgetting that Elizabeth couldn't see him, didn't answer other than to give a pathetic shrug.

Elizabeth smirked at the absurdity that she would be interested in Carson.

"At Christmas—", she said as she remembered an incident. "At Christmas, when you were home on leave and we met him in street. I wondered then, but thought I maybe just imagined it", she chuckled.

"When I put my arm around your waist and pulled you closer? Yeah, that was me being jealous," he admitted with chagrin.

Elizabeth didn't try to hide her laughter. "Why in the world would you be jealous? I would never be interested in him. Not that way. He's too boring and proper. He's nothing like you. You're all rugged and brave and outdoorsy and exciting."

"And dead," Jack pouted.

Elizabeth smiled. "You're not dead. Not in the normal way. You're just. . . .not all here."

"You said earlier that I was dead."

"I exaggerated," she said with a carefree shrug. "Pregnant women are allowed to exaggerate. And we're no longer going to refer to you as dead. You are _undead_."

"Sounds gross. Can we come up with a better word?"

"You are my husband. . . and. . . you're. . . hmmm . . . .without your body. You've lost your molecules! That's all. You've simply lost your molecules," she said decidedly.

"You've lost your marbles," he said under his breath.

"What did you say?!"

"I said you've lost your marbles if you think this is just a simple situation. I am without a body, and the town can't decide if you're in mourning or in delirium."

"On the plus side, I am pregnant and I have you with me."

Jack shook his head at her optimism and smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied happily.

"Can you see me yet?" he asked hopefully.

"It's still dark in here, Jack", she reminded him with raised eyebrows and a hint of a smile.

"Oh yeah. Okay, so forget about seeing me. How about feel me? Reach out your hand. I'm right in front of you."

Elizabeth moved her hand in the darkness.

"Anything?"

"No." Elizabeth frowned.

"Try some more," he encouraged.

The blanket slipped from her shoulders as Elizabeth leaned forward and moved her arms about. It was actually quite similar to Tai Chi, she realized. She moved her arms up and down. Left and Right.

"What do you feel?" Jack asked impatiently for the second time.

"Pressure by you," she answered dryly.

She dropped her hands to her sides. "Jack, it's no good. When we try, it just seems to make it impossible. We were right earlier when we said it has to come naturally. We have to be patient."

"I'm tired of being patient! I should never have died in the first place!" he retorted.

"Jack, please don't be angry," Elizabeth encouraged. "Let's just enjoy our time and talk."

"I'd rather make out. I miss you," he grumbled.

"I miss you too. And we will make out soon enough. I'm sure of it," she nodded enthusiastically. "And until then, we can talk about all our past kisses."

"Oh joy," he responded dryly.

"Behave," she chided.

"Fine," he sighed. " We'll _talk_ about our kisses. What are we supposed to say?"

"How about our favorite ones?" she suggested. "It will be fun."

"Our favorite kisses?"

"Yes," she said happily.

"Like French, or not-French? Cuz those are our only two choices. Unless you're doing something I'm not aware of."

"Not types of kisses, stupid! Times and places we've kissed!"

 _Honestly, men need to learn to be more sentimental_ , she thought in the darkness.

"Times and places? I wasn't exactly looking at my watch when we were smooching. Would have been bad form. And I do pride myself on being a gentlemen," he teased.

"Where do you think the next one will be?" she asked in an effort to get him to participate in this mental game.

"Where? I was thinking more about _when_."

" _WHERE_ , Jack. _Where_ will our next kiss be?"

" _I'm_ hoping it will be on the mouth. You got some other plan?"

Elizabeth reached out her hand and swatted his arm. "Stop that", she good-naturedly ordered him and then playfully pushed him. "You know what I meant."

Jack chuckled as he fell backwards.

"No pushing," he laughed.

They both stopped laughing at the same moment when they realized what had happened.

"We felt each other," Elizabeth whispered in wonder.

"Again! We did it again!"

"I told you we could do it!"

* * *

"Elizabeth! Are you in here!" Carson's voice came from the entrance of the coal mine.

Elizabeth froze at the words.

Jack cursed under his breath at the sound of the other man's voice.

"Should I answer him?" Elizabeth whispered.

"Elizabeth! It's me, Carson. I'm coming in! Can you hear me?"

"Go ahead," Jack said with a frown. "He won't give up."

"Elizabeth," Carson said with relief when he thought that he saw her in the dim light. "Is that you I heard?"

"Yes, it's me."

Elizabeth scrambled to her feet and moved towards Carson. "What is it, Carson? Why are you here?"

"I was looking for you. I called out to you at your homesite. I guess you didn't hear me."

"No, I guess I didn't," Elizabeth lied.

She wasn't one to lie. In fact, she normally frowned on even a hint of falsehood. But this was different. If there was ever a time to lie, this was most definitely the time. She figured that if she was ever judged on her moral character, she'd be forgiven for lying and saying she hadn't been talking to her dead husband. Or rather her _undead_ husband who had simply lost his molecules.

"You've got to be cold in here," Carson observed.

The man set down his medical bag on the ground and reached for her blanket. He didn't wait for a response but picked it up and wrapped it around Elizabeth. He ran his hands along her arms in a quick but friendly attempt to warm her up.

"He's touching you," Jack growled but Elizabeth pretended not to notice.

Carson dropped his hands to his sides and looked at her. Elizabeth knew she could never be interested in the man in a more than platonic way and she certainly hoped he would never be interested in her.

 _For goodness sakes, my husband is a ghost and the town thinks that I'm on the verge of losing my sanity. The last things I need to worry about are keeping Jack from being irrationally jealous and the town's boring doctor from being interested in me._

"What are you doing in here?" Carson's eyes squinted in confusion. "Alone in a coal mine?"

"I was just . . .um. . doing what people do here," she fumbled for an answer.

Carson looked at her curiously. "What people _do_ in a coal mine?"

"Yes. Naturally. What else would I be doing in a coal mine? I'm gathering coal," she said hastily as she bent down and picked up her basket.

"Gathering coal?" she heard Jack say incredulously.

Without wasting a moment, Elizabeth began scurrying around picking up stray black pieces of anthracite which had long ago fallen off of coal carts. "Coal here. Coal there. There's lots of coal in this mine," she babbled as she tossed it into her basket.

 _Goodness, I feel like the housemaids back home in Hamilton who were in charge of our fireplaces!_

"Gathering coal?" Carson asked in a worried voice. "Elizabeth, are you worried about finances? Do you think that you may not have enough money to pay for coal? Or food? Or other necessities?"

"I can provide for my own wife," Jack declared as if he had been personally insulted.

 _You can't even toss more than an onion_! Elizabeth thought with mild irritation at his jealousy. _What are you going to do? Get a job throwing onions in a grocery store?_

Elizabeth dropped another piece of coal in her basket and wiped her hand across her forehead to push back her hair.

"A penny saved is a penny earned," she said pleasantly.

When Carson continued to look at her with a mixture of sympathy and worry, she realized maybe her story hadn't been exactly believable.

"Elizabeth, I - I can't think of why you would be here in this abandoned mine. You could get lost here. Or injured. You weren't _trying_ to get lost or injured, were you?"

'Of course not!"

"Then why are you here?"

"Fine," she said with a sigh. "I'm not here gathering coal. I'm here because this was my and Jack's place."

"You and Jack owned a coal mine?" the town's doctor asked in confusion. He hadn't been in town in the early years of the Thornton's relationship but he certainly didn't remember anyone telling him that the couple had been proprietors of a coal mine.

"No, we didn't own a coal mine," Elizabeth answered in mild disgust.

"You just said it was yours and Jacks place."

"It was a _special_ place to us," she clarified.

A puzzled Carson looked around at the stark surroundings. "Why?"

"It reminds me of our love."

"Cold and dark? Your love was cold and dark?" Carson asked in confusion.

Jack growled for the second time since Carson had entered the mine. "Don't you dare tell him. Don't tell him that this is where we made up after our fight and declared our love for the first time. That's our story. It's not for him to know how we kissed here."

"Hush", Elizabeth hissed out of the side of her mouth in Jack's direction.

"There are bats in here," Carson observed as he looked around some more and scrutinized the situation. "You and Jack liked a place full of bats?"

"Yes, bats are terribly romantic," Elizabeth gushed as she ignored Carson's obvious confusion at the situation. "They're so . . . so. . . unique."

"How?" Carson questioned. He eyed Elizabeth carefully as he remembered the worries of the town's women. Best to go slowly with her, he thought.

"Yeah, how?" Jack asked. "This I gotta hear."

"They . . . um. They are the only mammal that use echolocation to find their way around. Echolocation. Such an interesting feat."

"Echolocation. That's romantic?" Carson asked.

 _What the heck did I say that for?!_ _Why are bats and echolocation romantic?!_

"Um. Yes. The way they use echoing is so incredibly romantic. It just well you know, romantic." Elizabeth said. "It's so obvious I don't even need to explain it, do I?"

"Oh, no, you need to try," Jack said encouragingly. She swore she could hear him smiling.

"I've never heard of echolocation as being romantic", Carson said warily.

"Well, Jack could be terribly romantic. When he wasn't teasing me," she said pointedly for Jack's benefit before she continued with her explanation to Carson.

"Bats are associated with echoes. And the coal mine echoes too. Like our love. Mine and Jack's love that is. It bounced back and forth between us. Whenever I told Jack that I loved him, he would say it back. And vice versa. When I come here now and say I love him, it echoes back to me. So bats and the mine remind me of Jack. His love echoes back to me." She finished with a satisfied emphasis.

 _Man, I'm good. That sounds romantic even to me and I just made it up!_

"Echoes? Our love echoes? Where the heck did that come from?" Jack said with a mixture of humor and disgust at her quick lie. "He'll never believe something so stupid," he informed Elizabeth.

"I don't see you coming up with an excuse for why I'm in a coal mine by myself!" she muttered under her breath in his direction.

Carson, crouched down and was now busy looking in his medical bag, didn't hear her.

"You don't _see_ me at all," Jack reminded her chuckle.

Jack's voice suddenly changed from humorous to worrisome as he watched Carson. "What's he looking for?"

"I have no idea," Elizabeth, forgetting to whisper, said with her own sudden concern.

Carson, holding something in his hand, looked up from his bag medical.

"You have no idea about what?" he asked as he looked at Elizabeth.

 **UP Next: Chapter 9**

 **Dear Readers: Thanks for your reviews of the last chapter. I love reading your comments.**


	9. Chapter 9 - Saved by the Bats

**CHAPTER 9 – SAVED BY THE BATS**

"I have no idea why you are so concerned about me that you came all the way out here. Really, you shouldn't have bothered," Elizabeth said as she tried to hide her nervousness at Carson's presence.

She honestly had no idea what the doctor was looking for in his medical bag but she was determined to handle this calmly. "I appreciate your concern, but it wasn't necessary. You are probably exhausted after your trip out of town. Why don't you head on home, now?"

Carson, who was still crouched on the coal mine floor looked up at Elizabeth. She seemed normal enough but he remembered what Florence and Dottie had told him - that Elizabeth had been talking to herself. And even more concerning, she had apparently been dancing by herself and fighting by herself. Rosemary had tried to act as if Elizabeth would be fine but Carson suspected that was out of some kind of loyalty to Jack. Even Abigail had been concerned about Elizabeth's behavior over the past week. The laughing. The crying. The smiling while in mourning. The desire to be alone.

"I'd like you to come back to town with me, Elizabeth," the doctor said as he eyed her with a professional view.

"I bet you would," Jack scoffed.

Elizabeth ignored her husband as she concentrated on the doctor.

"Thank you, Carson. But I'd like to stay here awhile longer."

Carson stood up and looked around the cave. It was damp, dark, and chilly. No place for a pregnant woman to be alone.

"I'll stay with you," he stated with determination. "As long as you want."

"Don't be silly," Elizabeth smiled pleasantly. "I'm sure you have better things to do."

"I've got plenty of time. I'll stay with you until you're ready to leave, and then we'll walk back to town and maybe have dinner together."

"I knew he couldn't be trusted! He likes you!" Jack scowled. "Was he just waiting for me to get buried in a landslide?! What kind of doctor just waits around for someone to get killed in a landslide so he can steal his wife?"

 _For goodness sakes, we're in a dim dirty coal mine! What does Jack think the man's going to do? Suddenly pull me into a passionate kiss in a stupid coal mine? Who does something like that?!_

 _Oh, wait. That did happen to me._

 _But that was Jack so it was okay,_ Elizabeth quickly concluded.

Elizabeth realized she'd have to console her irrational husband later. For now, she just wanted Carson gone and no longer suspicious of her mental health.

"Really that's not necessary for you to stay," Elizabeth protested to Carson. "I'll be fine by myself."

"You won't come back to town with me?"

"Don't be so serious, Carson." Elizabeth said with a smile. "I'm just going to stay here a bit longer. I've come here a lot. This place is like a second home to me."

"A second home? We've been here like three or four times together," Jack said with a smirk.

 _Okay, maybe I exaggerated a bit. But it is a like another home with sweet memories of our love and kisses. Right after the row house. . . . And after the home site, of course. . . . And after the school house.. . . And the jail. And after by the pond where we made out and my skirt got grass stains. . . Okay, I exaggerated a lot. This place isn't like a second home._

 _But that's not the point. The point is Carson shouldn't be here,_ she thought assertively.

"Find out what he's got in his hand," Jack urged.

"Carson, what did you take out of your medical bag?" Elizabeth asked. She tried to keep her tone pleasant. "I'm just curious. Was it something for you? Are you feeling okay?"

The doctor cleared his throat.

"It's actually something I thought you might like. It's called Veronal."

"Veronal? What is it? I'm not sick. Why would I need it?"

"It's a fairly new drug. By Bayer. The same company that makes aspirin."

"I don't have a headache."

"It's not for headaches."

"What's it for?" a suspicious Jack and Elizabeth both asked at the same time.

"It's to help you calm down."

"I'm perfectly calm," she stated but her mind became more unsettled at the man's presence.

 _What is he up to?_

"I'd like you to try just a small amount. I'll mix it with some water," Carson explained as he pulled a small canteen from his bag. "It's a barbiturate. It should sooth you."

"I don't need soothing," Elizabeth countered.

"Don't take it, Elizabeth. Barbituates are heavy sedatives," Jack warned. "They can kill."

Carson looked up from his bag again and spoke. "I'm here as your doctor and your friend."

"That's very considerate of you, but I certainly don't need a doctor, and although I appreciate your friendship, as I said, I'm just fine."

Elizabeth was starting to get riled up.

She had appreciated the town's support when she had learned of Jack's accident, and in the weeks after, but she was the town's school teacher, not the town's orphan puppy. She could handle her life just fine, she thought to herself.

 _Why won't people just leave me and Jack alone?! I am definitely having the house built so we can have more privacy. Newlyweds need privacy! Everyone knows that._

"Please try a little of this. Just a small dose," Carson encouraged. "You'll feel very relaxed and by the time we get back to town, you'll be ready for a good nap. When you wake up, we can talk about what you've been going through."

"Don't take it," Jack ordered.

Elizabeth looked at the small bottle in Carson's hand and reached for it. The cream-colored label affixed to the frosted glass bottle identified the contents. _Barbituate. Powder form. Will cause deep sleep._

"You're fired," Elizabeth told Carson as she handed the bottle back to him.

"Excuse me?" Carson asked in confusion.

"If you're here as my doctor, you're fired," she said simply.

When he didn't take the bottle from her outstretched hand, Elizabeth gracefully bend down and placed it in the man's black medical bag.

"Elizabeth, you ran away from the homesite and came here to . . . to gather coal or to listen to echoes or to admire bats. I think you need to get back to town and get a good night's sleep. This medicine will help."

"I don't want your medicine. If you insist, I'll go back to town with you. But really, Carson, where I spend my time is not your business. If I have a question about my pregnancy that's one thing. But this has nothing to do with my pregnancy."

"The town is worried about you. You haven't been acting yourself since Jack died."

"Of course, I haven't been acting myself!" Elizabeth erupted. "I was widowed weeks after getting married! Jack and I were cheated! We barely had any time together! The future we had planned was ripped away from us! Why shouldn't I be acting differently than normal!"

"You tell him!" Jack encouraged her. "Send him back to town!"

"Jack and I were supposed to have a life together! I'll deal with his absence in the way I want!" Elizabeth hurled her words at the town's doctor.

"Keep going! Tell him I'm the only man you'll ever love!" Jack urged her.

"Jack's the only man I ever loved!" Elizabeth shouted at Carson.

"The only man you _WILL_ ever love!" Jack corrected her.

 _For Pete's sake, that goes without saying_ , Elizabeth thought. But she decided to say it anyway to appease Jack. _After all, he is a ghost. He doesn't ask for a lot._

"Jack is the only man I _will_ ever love!"

"He doesn't know anything about you!" Jack exclaimed.

 _Okay, that's not exactly true. I did go to see Carson when I thought Jack had died._ _But now that I think about it, his advice was pretty much worthless since Jack is still here!_

"You don't know anything about me!" Elizabeth cried out.

"Now tell him to get out of our special place!" a wound-up Jack told her. "If I could tell him, I would!"

"Get out of our special place. If Jack could tell you he would!"

"I didn't mean for you to add that last part", Jack told her. That was for you."

 _Oops._

Carson looked stunned by Elizabeth's outburst and it took him a moment before he could respond. "I am just trying to help. You're obviously very emotional about Jack. I didn't mean to upset you."

"Then you need to respect me and my decision about how to handle my situation. This is where I want to be. I'll go back to town when I'm ready," Elizabeth replied. She threw back her shoulders and stood firm.

Carson was wavering between waiting outside the mine or walking slowly back to town, when another voice entered the conversation.

"Elizabeth, is that you?" a female voice came from outside the entrance of the coal mine. "Is everything okay? Is Carson with you?"

"Oh, for Pete's sake. This is our private place!" Jack said in disgust when he heard Rosemary's voice and then the mumbled sound of a man talking to her.

A second later, Rosemary and Lee entered the mine.

"Ooh, it's chilly in here," Rosemary exclaimed when she left the sunlight. She rubbed her hands along her arms. "There you two are! We've been looking for you. When I heard that Carson had gone to find you, and wasn't back yet, I just knew I had to help out."

"She did," Lee noted with a defeated sigh.

"Everything okay?" the owner of the lumber mill asked when he saw Elizabeth's tense face.

"I'm fine," Elizabeth stated. "Carson seems to think that I can't be alone. I was just explaining to him that I don't need his help."

"Oh," was all a confused Lee could think of to say.

"Of course, you don't," Rosemary said knowingly. "You're obviously here to think about Jack. This is the mine that silly little dog of Jacks hid in, and you two had your little adventure with him saving you. Quite damsel-in- distress like. Very romantic."

"Elizabeth", Rosemary continued as she walked over and put an arm around Elizabeth. "I'm sure you had a nice time here but it's getting late. What you need is some female pampering. We'll go back to my place and have a good cup of tea."

"Just go with her. I don't think you have a choice," Jack said with a resigned sigh.

"I don't want to!" Elizabeth said adamantly. _I'm a grown woman. I can make my own decisions_. _I don't need people hovering over me and telling me how to act._

* * *

"Hello everybody," the voice of Hickam surprised everyone as the man cautiously entered the cave.

Four humans and one ghost all turned to look in his direction.

"This is our special place!" Jack yelled in exasperation when the man approached. "Why is everyone showing up here?!"

Hickam squinted in the dimness until he recognized Lee.

"Mr. Coulter, you're needed at the mill. There's a question about the size to cut some of the planks," the pale and somewhat socially awkward man said as he addressed his employer.

The abandoned coal mine was starting to resemble the Saloon with its growing crowd of people. Elizabeth realized that five people was probably the largest number at one time in the mine since it closed years ago.

Ignoring the fact that they were in an abandoned mine and not in the Coulter Lumber Company office, Lee and Hickam began discussing the necessary sizes of elongated pieces of flat wood.

Rosemary picked up Elizabeth's basket and curiously began taking out pieces of coal while wondering why the black rocks were mixed with the remains of a picnic lunch. She remembered that Elizabeth had never been much of a cook.

Carson hesitated and closed his medical bag with the unopened small medicine bottle tucked inside.

Elizabeth crossed her arms and glared at all of them.

"I'm sorry our picnic got ruined. Twice", Jack told her. in a disappointed voice. "Looks like you're stuck with either Carson or Rosemary hovering over you the rest of the evening."

"Oh no, I'm not," Elizabeth muttered for Jack's ears only.

"Everyone," she said loudly and firmly as if calling her class to attention. "I appreciate your concern for me and for, well, the lumber business", she said with hand motion to Lee and Hickam, "but I would appreciate if you would all just leave me alone."

"Lee, if Elizabeth is going to be coming here, you'll need to make her a bench to be more comfortable," Rosemary ordered her husband the moment Elizabeth stopped speaking.

The theatrical woman ignored Elizabeth exasperated look, and instead paced around the cavern, looking at the damp walls as if she were choosing the best paint colors, wallpaper, or place to put furniture.

"Right here," she said as she held her arms out and made a grand sweeping motion. "About five feet long. The best wood. Maybe painted white to cheer up this place. It's so dreary."

"It's an abandoned coal mine," Elizabeth said with more than a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"She doesn't need a bench," Lee told Rosemary.

"Of course, she does! She's pregnant and terribly sad over Jack. She'll want to come here quite often to reminisce and day dream about him. She can't stand here all day or sit on the dirty ground. She needs a bench. I want you to get started on it right away. "

"Hickam –" Rosemary said as she turned to her husband's employee. "Have the men get the supplies. Hurry up. Scurry back to town." Rosemary made a shooing motion with her hands.

"A bench might be nice," Jack said thoughtfully. "You are pregnant. When you get farther along, you won't want to sit on the ground."

"I don't want a bench for a cave. I want our house built," Elizabeth remarked loud enough for Jack and everyone else to hear. "And I want you all gone so I can spend time with Jack. Jack's memory", she quickly corrected herself.

It was hopeless. No one but Jack was paying attention to her. Hickam was anxiously asking Lee if he should start working on the bench or handle the order for the planks. Carson was walking to the front of the mine after hearing someone call out, and Rosemary was in her own world.

"It's too chilly. Make sure your men bring some wood too. So she can start a fire when she's here. Hmm," Rosemary continued to think as she looked around. "Pillows. Yes, pillows. Most definitely."

"I don't need pillows!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I need you gone! All of you. Gone."

"What color pillows would you like?" Rosemary called from across the cave. Her one-track mind left no room for objections from others.

Elizabeth's shoulders sagged in defeat. "Why don't you get whatever matches some wallpaper," she replied sarcastically.

Ignoring Elizabeth's tone and actual words, Rosemary excitedly turned towards her. "Dottie and I will whip up some adorable throw pillows for your bench. We just got a new shipment of fabric in. Now, I can't let you have that. It's far too glamorous for a coal mine, but I can use some of the last shipment. We've got some half bolts left of a color and pattern that didn't go over as well as I thought it would. Honestly, who knew paisley wouldn't be popular this year."

"I don't know a thing about paisley and no real man does," Bill Avery declared as he walked towards the group led by Carson.

Elizabeth was certain she heard Jack slap his forehead in frustration at the newest arrival.

"Now let's all get back to town," Bill continued. "Abigail's worried about Elizabeth being gone so long. She sent me to find her."

"Looks like I stumbled on a damn town meeting," he muttered as he looked at Elizabeth, Rosemary, Lee, Hickam, and Carson all standing in the dim light.

 _What the heck is happening?! Carson wants to drug me, Rosemary wants to decorate a mine. Bill's on the case of a missing person – me,_ Elizabeth thought in bewilderment.

 _I just want to be alone with Jack._

 _And kiss him, of course._

* * *

"Want me to get rid of all of them?"

Elizabeth perked up at Jack's question.

She bent down and pretended to tie her shoelace so she could mumble to her husband. "How?"

"Move over against the far wall and crouch down. Pretend you're just relaxing against it or something."

"What are you going to do?" she hissed.

"I've been watching the bats. Rosemary's voice is starting to get to them. They don't seem to be too fond of its loud shrillness. Can't blame them. A little help from me and I think they'll be ready to swarm. Now go on, move over there and sit down."

Elizabeth quietly moved over to the wall of the cave where Jack had directed her to go. She leaned her back against it as if she was exhausted by the scene in front of her. Which wasn't too hard for her to do because she actually was exhausted by the scene.

As she bent her knees and slid herself to the ground, she eyed a few bats which were hanging upside down from the roof of the cave by their sharp claws. While she only could see a few, she knew there were probably many more hidden in the shadows and crevices of the rocks.

Three seconds later the noise began.

First it was the squeaks rising up from the cave.

Then it was the flapping of hundreds of tiny wings. Fluttering furiously, they sounded like boat sails snapping in a high wind before a fierce storm.

The squeaking grew louder and louder as the bats, which numbered more than four hundred, guided themselves by the high-pitched echoes which were now bouncing off the walls. Bouncing off the humans that had invaded their space.

The cursing and screaming came next.

The cursing was by the Bill.

The screams were from the rest of the intruders.

Rosemary shrieked as her body was battered by the flying mouse-like creatures. She wildly tried to protect herself but only caused more trouble. If she had remained still, the animals would have easily flown past her or over her. But her jerky movements caused confusion as she blocked the mammals' flight paths. Lee grabbed her hand and pulled her from the cave while he swatted at the two bats which were now caught in her long blond hair.

All around her, Elizabeth could hear the high-pitched squeaks and feel the wind caused by the movement of the flying mammals. But she didn't curse. And she didn't scream.

Because Jack's arms were around her. As she huddled on the ground with her body pressed against a cool wall, she felt his warmth covering her.

Protecting her.

Like he always would.

 **Up Next: Chapter 10.**

 **Dear Readers: Like all my stories, this one will have a very happy ending. It's not there yet, but love is patient.**

 **Dear S.T., I hope your friend J.C. is fine. I haven't heard from her in a while so I found myself curious as to what she's been up to!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Before and After

**Dear Readers, These two just seem to belong together!** 😊

 **CHAPTER 10 BEFORE AND AFTER**

"You okay?" Jack asked as he turned Elizabeth's body towards him now that the bats had all flown past their crouched figures and escaped from the coal mine into the late-day sky.

Jack had been right that it didn't take a lot on his part to get the bats to swarm. Rosemary's shrill voice and the voices of the Carson, Lee, Hickam, and Bill had woken the bats from their peaceful slumber and agitated them to such a point that a few pokes from Jack and a clap of his hands did the trick. Several hundred bats had managed to exit the mine in less than two minutes.

"Fine", Elizabeth answered breathlessly. Jack's face was just inches from hers and in the dimness of the cave she could barely make out his features, but he was there. Touching her. Looking at her with love.

The cave was silent.

It was just the two of them. One a ghost and one a woman desperately in love with her husband.

Without thinking, she put a hand on one of his cheeks and closed the small distance between them.

Jack was taken by surprise by Elizabeth's kiss but he reacted naturally.

He pulled her body against him. Keeping their lips together.

Weeks of longing. The tears. The pain. The frustration. The sorrow.

The hope.

And finally, the kiss.

Her lips were moist and welcoming. He could feel her warmth. In her mouth. In his mouth.

Their tongues deliciously mingled together.

A yearning went through Jack's body as Elizabeth refused to let go of him. Refused to break the kiss.

Their bodies fit together as if they had been sculpted for each other. Like someone had gently carved a spot in the dip of his chest just for her.

This is where they both belonged.

Now it was Jack who refused to let go. He held her face to his as he became more passionate. He felt her shudder a bit but he barely paid attention.

He didn't ever want the kiss to end.

* * *

"Elizabeth! Are you okay?" Bill Avery's loud voice caused Elizabeth and Jack to jerk apart in surprise.

"I'm fine!" Elizabeth called out as she scrambled to her feet. "The bats flew right past me. How's everyone else?"

"Rosemary twisted her ankle. Lee and Hickam are carrying her back to town. Like some kind of Egyptian queen sitting on their joined hands", Bill said in disgust as he approached Elizabeth. "Carson's going with them too. Come on, I'll walk you back."

* * *

"So our love is like a flying rodent-like mammal?" Jack teased as he and Elizabeth slowed their pace as they got closer to town.

Bill had escorted Elizabeth most of the way from the cave until a rancher had ridden by and asked for his help in tracking a bobcat suspected of killing some lambs.

Assuring Bill that she was perfectly capable of walking the last 200 yards back to town, Elizabeth had waved him goodbye.

She waited until she was sure that he was out of sight and no one else was around to see her talking before she responded to Jack's question.

"I had to come up with something," Elizabeth replied. "It's not easy coming up with excuses as to why I've been acting so strange."

Jack chuckled. "And you're very good at it. It's just that bats tend to be promiscuous and into polygamy."

"No!" a horrified Elizabeth challenged.

Jack smiled. "Yeah. They are. At least some species. So maybe next time, you can come up with a better example for our love. Something more appropriate."

When she glared at him, Jack grinned again. "Like beavers or bald eagles or wolves. They're all into monogamy and mating for live. Wolves would be nice. Just a suggestion."

"There weren't exactly any beavers or bald eagles or wolves in the cave with us," Elizabeth retorted as she looked down at her skirt. "And I got bat guano on my skirt and it's one of my favorites so be nice to me."

"I will be nice to you forever," he said happily.

Jack was thrilled that he and Elizabeth had finally been able to physically connect. Not only that, but she could still see him. He hadn't evaporated once since their kiss.

"Was it okay?" Jack asked. A somewhat worried expression crossed his face. For the last thirty minutes, he had been wanting to ask her but with Bill around, it had been impossible to have a conversation. Instead, a bored Jack had listened to Bill and Elizabeth talk about him. Actually Bill had done most of the talking while Elizabeth had seemed preoccupied.

Elizabeth gave him an inquisitive look. "Was what okay?"

"The kiss. Our kiss. You seemed kind of . . . I don't know . . . stunned by it."

"It was fine. Better than fine," she said with a laugh.

"Really?"

"Jack, I love you. Of course, I loved kissing you. Especially after all this time!"

"I didn't ask you if you loved me, I asked if the kiss was okay."

"And it was," she said.

"It was as good as before, wasn't it?" He tried to hide his anxiousness over his question but she had been acting preoccupied and he couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking about their kiss. When Bill had interrupted them, Elizabeth had jumped up so quickly from the cave floor that Jack didn't have a chance to talk to her.

"As good as before? Sure."

"I guess I'm a little out of practice", he apologetically volunteered when he noticed that her voice seemed a bit hesitant.

Elizabeth laughed. "Well I would hope so. I hope you haven't been kissing anyone but me. And I'm just as much out of practice as you. The exact same amount of time."

"So you liked kissing me?"

"Of course!" She reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"What aren't you telling me?" he asked suspiciously.

"Stop being a Mountie," she good-naturedly chided him. "There's nothing I'm not telling you. The kiss was fine. I hope to do it again. Several more times. When we're in private so I won't look strange kissing my invisible husband."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked looking for reassurance. "Because I want it to be like before so its like we're a normal couple."

Elizabeth looked at her feet and pretended to be concentrating on not tripping over a rock. "Hmm. Mmm," she mumbled somewhat agreeably.

"Yeah," Jack said when he found her answer less than comforting. "Like before. Right?"

Elizabeth twirled a piece of her hair as she looked into the distance. She wondered if she should tell him the truth but knowing that men can have sensitive egos, she decided against it. She pretended that his question didn't require an answer.

"Elizabeth, if you don't want to kiss me because I'm a ghost, I'll understand. I can't imagine what it must be like. If you're turned off, I understand. Just please be honest with me," he said glumly.

"I am being honest with you. I want to kiss you."

"You just didn't like it," he said sadly. His pace became almost snail-like and he dragged his feet.

"I never said that!" Elizabeth protested.

"I can tell by how you're acting."

"How am I acting?!" she exclaimed. "I said I love you and loved kissing you!"

"You're acting like it was different. Like you're in shock," he accused her.

Jack had never imagined that if he was able to kiss her again that it would be any different than before. But he now had the distinct impression that his kiss with Elizabeth wasn't what she had expected. He wondered if he had let her down.

"You always said I was a good kisser. I don't want to have lost that. I want things to be the same as much as they can," he added when she didn't respond.

"Was it the same for you?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Yes!" Jack answered emphatically. "Wasn't it the same for you?"

Elizabeth paused before answering. "Not quite," she said evasively. "Not _exactly_ like before. But that's to be expected I guess."

"Oh", was all Jack could think to say in response. He should have realized that kissing a ghost wouldn't be the same as kissing a live husband.

Elizabeth gently swung their arms as they held hands. She began humming a pretty little tune that she had going through her head.

"Was it terrible?" Jack blurted out, unable to stop thinking about it. He thought the kiss had been great. He loved kissing Elizabeth.

Elizabeth stopped humming and looked at him guiltily. "Don't get mad, okay?"

"I won't."

"And don't get upset and start making comparisons and feeling insulted!"

Jack nodded. "I won't. It's okay. We don't have to kiss again."

"Not kiss again?" Elizabeth had an odd look on her face that Jack couldn't tell if she was pleased or not pleased by the idea.

"Or maybe it will get better," he offered.

Elizabeth's eyes got wide as if the idea startled her. "Better?"

Jack shrugged a little helplessly when he saw the hopeful excited look in her eyes.

"You really think it can get better?" she asked in wonder.

"I'll try", he offered. "Just tell me what was wrong. Was it gross? Creepy? How did it compare to our kisses before? Because it honestly felt the same to me."

Elizabeth realized she might as well tell him the truth because she couldn't stop thinking about it.

"It was awesome!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Awesome?" Jack's face showed his surprise.

"Now don't get upset. You were always a good kisser, but today's was incredible! It made me all tingly. At first, I thought maybe it was because it's been so long since we kissed, and all that pent-up longing, and there's been so much drama but it wasn't that," she said with her eyes lit up with excitement. "You're still shimmery and when we kissed, it was like some of that shimmery went into me! It was amazing!"

"Amazing?"

"It was like electricity but not really," she said as she eagerly tried to explain it to Jack. "It was peaceful and beautiful and uplifting and WOW."

"Wow?"

"Remember when we kissed passionately in the mine when we first said I love you and remember when you were first going away to the Northern Territories and I was crying and you hurried back to me and pulled me into that romantic kiss?"

"Of course."

"Well it was better than those!" Elizabeth couldn't hide her delight. "Like ten times better!"

"TEN TIMES BETTER?!"

Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically.

"You're telling me that I kiss better as a dead man?" Jack asked dryly.

"I knew you'd be insulted!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "That's why I didn't want to tell you!"

"I thought you liked my kisses before. You always said you did."

"I did! "

"What was wrong with them before?"

"Nothing was _wrong_ with them. They were fine –"

"Fine. My kisses were _fine_. Great. Just what every man wants to hear. That his kisses were _fine_."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at his sarcasm. "They were better than fine before. But –"

"But?" Jack interrupted. He was clearly feeling insulted. It was bad enough that he was relegated to being a ghost with limited access to touching his wife but now it turned out the human form of himself hadn't been such a great kisser.

"But this was soooo much better."

"Ten times better apparently", Jack grumbled.

"Don't get all upset."

"Why would I get upset? A dead me kisses better than the real me. All those years we were together and apparently you would have preferred me dead."

"Oh hush," Elizabeth reprimanded him. "Besides you're not dead. We already decided you're just missing your molecules."

"Apparently I'm only missing the bad kissing ones."

"You're acting like a baby."

Jack kicked a small rock and watched it roll away. "What was so great about this kiss?"

"I felt like a light was going into me. But not really a light. More like warmth through my whole body from my tongue to my toes. Just traveling through me!" she joyfully explained.

She let go of Jack's hands and moved hers into the air as she happily described the feeling. "Like when you kissed me, you were sending a stream of your love into me."

"That's okay I guess," he admitted with a shrug. "But I've loved you forever. Didn't you feel love before when we kissed? Because I thought I was pretty romantic before."

Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively. "I knew you loved me. But this was different. I _felt_ it! Like it was not just a thought or an abstract thing but something real! Like a soft golden sunbeam threading through my veins and spreading out! It was just . . . . amazing!" she said as she practically skipped with joy. Actually, she did skip with joy.

"You already said that," Jack muttered. "It was amazing. As opposed to how I used to kiss all those hundreds and thousands of times."

"What am I supposed to do? Lie about it? You told me to tell you the truth. Married couples are supposed to be honest. You should be happy I liked our kiss."

"I thought my kisses before we pretty darn good," he noted. "I was pretty romantic the way I would swoop you into a kiss. All confident-like. All those kisses in the row house. And remember that time that I pulled you off to the side of the building at the school fair, and we smooched where no one could see us? And remember that time when I came back after the Northern territories and I picked you up and twirled you around. Those were great kisses," he insisted as he considered their prior meetings of the lips. "And what about our honeymoon?! I was gentle and confident and manly and romantic and passionate!"

"Yes, yes, you were," she responded absent-mindedly as she thought about the most recent kiss.

"The honeymoon was great," she added in an almost bored voice.

She paused dreamily while she re-imagined the Jack's latest kiss. "This kiss was just so wow."

"You already said it was wow and amazing."

"And shimmery!"

"Right, who can forget shimmery," he grumbled.

"Can we do it again? As soon as we get home?" she asked eargerly as she rubbed her hand along his arm encouragingly and picked up their pace.

 **UP NEXT: CHAPTER 11**


	11. Chapter 11 - Pounce, Passion, Poof

**CHAPTER 11 – POUNCE, PASSION, POOF**

"Wait", Elizabeth suddenly managed to say as she pulled her lips off of Jack's mouth. They had been passionately kissing on the parlor couch where ten minutes earlier Elizabeth had practically pushed Jack onto a cushion before pouncing on him.

When they had gotten back to the row house, Jack had realized that he had been an idiot to have taken Elizabeth's admiration for his newly acquired talent at kissing as an insult to his past performances. Any sane intelligent man should be thrilled that his kisses left a woman feeling shimmery, peaceful, alive, excited, and full of golden sunshine. And Jack liked to pride himself on being sane and intelligent.

He had thought about asking her to tell him more about how he made her feel, but Elizabeth didn't seem to be in the mood to do any more talking. And the way she moved her lips on him left little opportunity for her to actually say anything.

So instead of discussing his kisses, he had found himself thoroughly enjoying Elizabeth's lips on his lips – and occasionally on his neck. And earlobes. And well – wherever else she felt like moving them while her hands also enjoyed touching his body.

"Is it okay for you?" she now asked breathlessly as she pulled her face back slightly from his and looked him in the eyes.

"Totally", he replied and then immediately moved his mouth towards hers again.

Elizabeth put her hands on his chest and gently held him back. "I mean it. Don't you feel anything special?"

"It's always special when I kiss you," he answered automatically and then tried to kiss her again.

A frown formed on Elizabeth's face. "No, stop. I'm serious. I feel guilty."

"Don't feel guilty", he murmured and closed the distance between their mouths. Almost.

Elizabeth interrupted his intended kiss. "It's all tingly and shimmery for me and I just love it but it's just plan boring for you, isn't it?"

"It is not boring. A little frustrating in the last few seconds but not boring."

"I want you to be experiencing what I'm experiencing."

Jack chuckled. "What I'm experiencing is just fine. Now stop talking and let me experience it some more."

Elizabeth's face broke out in a grin and she moved it closer to his again.

* * *

The sudden sound of knocking caused Elizabeth to pull back from Jack.

"Are you expecting anyone?" he asked as he looked towards the front door.

"No. We already saw half of town at the coal mine."

"Well, we must have missed somebody," Jack noted cynically when the knocking began again.

* * *

"Abigail, you didn't have to, but this was sweet of you," Elizabeth, standing in the open doorway, remarked as her best friend, carrying a small pot, moved past her and entered the home.

"It's potato soup. It's tonight's special, but the crowd won't be there for a bit."

"I'm sure it's delicious but don't you need it for your customers?"

"There's plenty more," Abigail replied as she headed towards the kitchen.

"I'd rather have plenty more of your delicious kisses", Jack called out to Elizabeth. She gave him a helpless shrug as she left him sitting on the couch and instead followed after Abigail.

"I saw the men carrying Rosemary to the infirmary. She was acting like she was the Queen of the Nile. From the way she was carrying on, you'd think she had been attacked by a family of bears and had to valiantly fight for her life," Abigail said humorously as she lifted the lid off of the pot.

Elizabeth inhaled the soup's delicious peppery smell and snickered at Abigail's comment. "It was a few bats."

"From the way she told it, it was very dramatic."

"Everything about Rosemary is dramatic."

"The bats didn't bother you?"

"No," Elizabeth said dismissively.

"I had Jack there to protect me," she added as she took down two bowls from the cabinet. "He's wonderful. Nothing frightens him."

"Elizabeth!" Jack's incredulous voiced boomed from behind her.

Elizabeth jumped slightly at Jack's voice and wondered why he sounded so alarmed.

 _Two bowls._

 _I got down TWO bowls. That must be it. Darn. I forgot. Jack doesn't eat. Oh well, it's not that big a deal. I'll just pretend that it's for Abigail to join me._

Elizabeth set the bowls on the table and opened a nearby drawer. "You'll join me, right?" she asked pleasantly.

Elizabeth had two spoons in her hand before she realized that Abigail hadn't moved. In fact, she was standing as if she had been frozen by something Elizabeth had said or done.

A confused Elizabeth looked to Jack with her eyes pleading for him to tell her what had happened.

"You told her that I was protecting you in the coal mine!"

 _But you were_ , she thought in confusion. _What's so alarming about that. You're always protective._

For a split second, Elizabeth was perplexed by Jack's statement until she realized in horror the enormity of what she had said.

"She thinks you might be delusional! In your grief, you've gone off the deep end," Jack explained, but Elizabeth had just figured that out on her own.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in consternation at Jack.

"So, Abigail," she hurriedly said to her friend. "I'm sure you felt the same way after Noah died. That he was protecting you. It's quite natural I suspect. Isn't it?" she continued to speak.

Jack gave her a look of approval at her fast thinking and motioned for her to keep going.

Elizabeth tried to act casual as she hurriedly put two glasses on the table but she felt beads of perspiration start to form on her skin. "Isn't it natural for a widow to consider a loved one to be a guardian angel. Looking out for us."

Elizabeth practically felt Abigail release the breath she seemed to have been holding when she heard Elizabeth's explanation.

"Yes, you're right," Abigail replied with relief. "Our men are looking out for us. Protecting us from up in heaven."

"Actually, it's nothing quite so romantic and far away. I'm next to the potato bin," Jack said with a chuckle.

* * *

Abigail didn't stay to share the pot of soup. Deciding after five minutes that Elizabeth was fine, she gave her a quick hug, and then hurried to the Cafe to handle customers.

"That was nice of her but I wish we had more privacy," Elizabeth remarked as she closed the door after thanking her friend once again from bringing her dinner.

Elizabeth turned around and was taken aback by what she saw.

Jack was slumped in a kitchen chair.

What was even more troublesome to Elizabeth was that he seemed to be turning transparent.

He was disappearing.

"Stop!"

Elizabeth's wail caused Jack to perk up and look at her questioningly as she hurried to him.

"What? What's wrong?"

"You're disappearing."

Jack held up his hands and examined them. They were still visible. But looked fainter than they should. As he stared at his fingers and palms, he could see the blurry image of the room's stove and potato bin through them.

"I'm still here. A little thin, I guess," he admitted. "I'm just tired. I've been visible to you for probably two hours and touching you, and you touching me. I guess it wore me out. That's the longest I've been whole."

Elizabeth's brow crinkled and her face showed her worry.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just feeling a little weak."

"I thought you had been getting stronger since you've been with me?" she offered questioningly.

"I am. We can see each other more and now feel each other more. But it takes up energy, I guess. I feel like I've been shoveling coal all day or running a marathon."

"I'm sorry. I was being selfish."

Jack gave her a tired chuckle and a smile. "You're not being selfish. You're being wonderful. How about we skip dinner and go to bed? Unless you're hungry."

Elizabeth shook her head, ignored the pot of soup sitting on the stove, and took ahold of his hand.

* * *

The only sound as they walked upstairs was the slight creaking of the wooden stairs.

Elizabeth held tightly to Jack and anticipated what would happen upstairs.

 _I love this man so much,_ she thought as she wondered if she would burst with affection for him.

* * *

Elizabeth's usual white fluffy feather-filled coverlet was spread across the double mattress.

The quilt which the town ladies had made for her had been unceremoniously shoved under the bed days ago. Jack thought the whole thing was morbid and Elizabeth agreed.

Most of the town's widows had moved on emotionally after the deaths of their husbands, and they assumed that Elizabeth would also.

But Elizabeth knew that she would never love any man like she had loved Jack– like she _still_ loved – Jack. He was her first. Her only. Her forever. She had given him her body and soul. No man – no matter how good a man- would ever be able to take his place.

For the town's approval, she would portray the widow. Initially grieving, then finding comfort in teaching, and eventually finding joy in having Jack's baby, then one day perhaps pretending to be open to finding love again.

In reality, when the rest of the townspeople left her in apparent solitude, she would be sharing her time with Jack. Talking about their days. Making him smile. Laughing at his teasing. Feeling his touch. Kissing him. Making love to him.

If her life with him had to be private, that would be enough for her.

 _I'm sure there are stranger marriages,_ Elizabeth thought as she began the long process of removing her fabric belt, skirt, blouse, corset, under-blouse, knickers, and socks.

 _Why Odysseus and Penelope went twenty years without seeing each other!_

 _And_ _look at poor Heloise and Abelard after they married against her family's wishes. She ended up in a convent and he ended up castrated and in a monastery! Granted that was in the twelfth century, but still, that was some love!_

 _And what about President Jackson in the United States. It turned out he wasn't even legally married to his wife for the first three years of their marriage and when they found out they had to get remarried! What a scandal._

 _Yes, true love has its trials._

 _I suppose this is one of them,_ she decided without feeling sorry for herself.

 _We just have to make the best of it._

Jack relaxed on the mattress and tried to ignore the fact that his body and clothes were losing their color and substance. He placed his head on a pillow and watched Elizabeth discard her clothing.

"Don't look," she good-naturedly chided him as she unsnapped her corset.

"I'm not going to do anything _but_ look until you get over here," he said with a grin. "I like the view."

She smiled, and despite the fact that they were married, she happily blushed at his words.

"I have to put something on."

"Actually, you don't."

Elizabeth giggled and opened the bottom drawer of her dresser.

"Wear the white nightgown tonight," he suggested.

"The white one? Not too boring for you?" she teased.

"I like it. It reminds me of our wedding night. Actually, not the night but the next morning when you put it on," he reminded her with a knowing smile.

The night of their wedding, he had undressed her in the bedroom that until that day had been hers alone but was now theirs to share. Slowly unbuttoning her wedding dress, he had kissed her until she had felt like she wanted to lose all control, lose all reason. Like the rest of the world didn't matter. The passion of years of waiting had been evident in both of them. She hadn't felt nervous -only urgency and love- as she had fumbled with his shirt buttons. Finally married, they had skipped changing into night clothes and gone directly to bed.

"Then the white one it is," she replied sweetly.

She took hold of her undershirt, crossed her arms, and lifted it over her head. After dropping it to the floor, she stepped out of her knickers. And threw both garments on the the nearby chair.

Keeping her naked back to Jack, Elizabeth shuffled around in her drawer and took out the long white nightgown. She brought it to her face and inhaled the scent. Perfume still lingered on the fabric. In anticipation of his homecoming, she had kept it scented with Jack's favorite fragrance of hers.

Nestling the garment with her face, she smiled as she imagined putting it on only to have it removed in a few minutes.

It really wasn't even necessary to put it on but it seemed too scandalous to make a habit of going to bed naked, and Jack liked it, so she decided to wear it. She wondered how long it would take for Jack to undress her. She couldn't decide if she wanted him to hurry or take his time. Either way made her feel giddy.

Forgoing her usual routine of hanging up her day's clothes, she left them discarded in a heap on the chair, slipped the white smooth fabric over her head and let it fall down over her body. It felt good to be out of her corset and wearing something that seemed to float around her rather than constrict her body.

She moved her brush quickly through her hair, not wanting to take too much time away from Jack. Next, came the mouthwash. She didn't want to bother with going downstairs to use the sink and brush her teeth, so she simply took an unladylike swig of the amber-colored liquid, swished it in her mouth, and then tried to quietly spit it into the wash bowl on her dresser.

With a quick final look in the mirror, she licked her lips to give them a shiny inviting appearance.

"Ready", she announced happily as she turned around and faced the bed.

Her smile fell when she looked at Jack.

He was sound asleep.

Even in his sleep, he looked worn – exhausted from a hard day. It reminded Elizabeth of some nights when they had courted and he had come back to town after long hours of riding. Even when he had been obviously weary, he always wanted to stop by her row house and at least kiss her goodnight before he headed back to his cot at the jail.

She knew he must be tired. Not just because he was sleeping, but because his body had become more translucent even as they had just walked upstairs.

With a sigh, Elizabeth turned the knob on the kerosene lamp lowering the wick and extinguishing the flame.

 _At least we can lay together_ , she thought as she saw his faint image in the light of the full moon shining into the room through the window.

Moving over to cuddle against him, she lifted her long hair out of the way, and lowered her body onto his chest. She anticipated his warm strong body which she had decided long ago was better than any pillow.

SPLAT.

Her body went straight through him and hit the mattress.

He was almost completely gone. His body disappearing until he could regain his strength.

Elizabeth smacked her hand against the mattress and sighed in frustration.

"Arrgggh", she growled.

 _He is still so sexy. And he's practically off limits! I can't touch my own husband for more than a few hours a day!_

She wondered if it would be too forward of her to seduce him the moment his body was solid again.

 _Yes, that's what I'll do. I'm his wife, I'm allowed to be forward. It's not like we're still courting._

She decided that if he was solid tomorrow, she wouldn't even bother with allowing him talk or engage in foreplay. After being without his intimate touch for months, she firmly decided that foreplay was over-rated and talking was totally unnecessary.

 _Who needs to talk? We probably talk more than most couples anyway._

If his kisses were so spectacular, she could only wonder at how she would feel when he did more than kiss her.

 _Wow,_ she thought giddily but then she suddenly bit her bottom lip and frowned _._

 _What if I tire him out? What if . . ._

 _What if when we . . .. we . . . . . get to that moment of . . . . love. . . . he can't handle it?! What if he can't handle the excitement and physical effort?!_

Elizabeth became slightly paranoid as she thought about the logistics of having sex with a ghost who disappeared when he over exerted himself.

Actually she became more than slightly paranoid. She wondered if she was about to have a panic attack.

 _What if . . . IT . . . . causes him to . . . POOF!_

 _Disappear! Just like that!_

 _I'll be getting all shimmery and expecting . . . IT. . . and he'll just POOF!_ she practically wailed.

 _I don't want him to POOF! Husbands aren't suppose to POOF!_

Elizabeth lay her head on her own pillow and thought about it more. Trying to calm her worries.

 _I will be patient_ , she bravely told herself as she remembered what he had said earlier in the day. That he thought there might be a way for him to have a real form – with all his molecules.

 _Oh, the heck with that,_ she grumbled. _I'm not patient. I'll ask him about it in the morning._

 **Up Next: Chapter 12: Founders Day**

 **DEAR READERS: Thanks again for all your reviews. I smile whenever I get one.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Founders Day

**CHAPTER 12 – FOUNDERS DAY**

When Elizabeth woke up, she shivered in the cool morning air and lazily kept her eyes shut a bit longer. When she finally opened them, the sunlight was streaming in the window promising to be a warmer day. She turned over and looked at the other side of the bed. Jack's side.

It was empty.

Moving her body into a sitting position, her emotions were a mixture of slight worry and a denial that she should be worried. She stared at his pillow for some evidence of her husband.

His feather-filled pillow was slightly sunken in but she couldn't be sure if that was because of the weight of his invisible head or just the way the pillow was shaped.

 _He's still too tired to show himself_ , she thought in surprise. _We slept for hours. I thought that would be enough to renew his strength._

 _Oh God, maybe he ran out of visibility for good!_ she panicked before realizing that was absurd. There was no reason for him to disappear permanently.

 _He'll get his strength back after another good rest,_ she reasoned.

 _I'll still be able to feel him until then,_ she told herself optimistically.

 _I can still feel him, CAN'T I?_

"Jack?" she said softly but she didn't get a response.

"Jack?" she repeated.

Silence filled the air.

Hesitantly, Elizabeth reached out her hand and waved it in the air over the mattress and pillow in an effort to touch him.

She felt nothing.

 _I killed him! All that kissing yesterday killed him!_

 _I killed my husband who was already supposedly killed!_

 _How bad can my luck be?!_

 _NO! s_ he thought in a desperation. _He's GOT to still be here. He just has to be._

She wildly waved her hands some more in the air just above the mattress and pillow. When she still felt nothing, she began smacking the mattress.

"Jack! Jack!" she called out with each smack. "Jack!"

"Hey, sleepy head. What are you doing?"

Elizabeth jerked her head to the side.

Jack was standing in the doorway, looking at her curiously.

"I was . . .looking for you."

"By beating the mattress? Remind me to never get on your bad side," he chuckled.

"I thought I had killed you," she said apologetically as she breathed a sigh of relief at seeing him.

"By smacking me?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "By kissing you."

Jack gave her another curious look. "You weren't kissing me. I've been down in the kitchen. Did you think you were kissing me? Because that's kind of weird."

"I didn't think I was kissing you now!" Elizabeth protested. "I meant I was kissing you last night. I thought I killed you by kissing you so much." She gave an embarrassed shrug.

"Okay", Jack said hesitantly as he tried not to laugh. "I'm not exactly sure why your kisses would be deadly. But what does that have to do with you smacking the bed?"

"I was trying to _feel_ you."

"Since when did we get into smacking to feel each other? Because I'm not going to smack you. Ever. And to tell you the truth, I don't want you to smack me either."

"We're not into smacking – " she tried to explain but he interrupted.

"Seems kind out of character for us. I prefer the way we usually touch each other," he said with a twinkle in his eyes as he leaned casually against the door frame which miraculously seemed to support him. "You know, the soft sensual touch."

"I thought you might be asleep", she admitted and then shyly smiled at the way his words made her feel warm and tingly inside.

"That's how you'd wake me up?" he asked with a laugh.

"I didn't know if you were there or not! Stop teasing me! You had me worried," she wailed and then gave him a questioning look. "Why were you in the kitchen?"

"I was trying to see if I could make some coffee for you"

"Any luck?"

"Sorry. My hand just went through the pot. I might, however, be able to touch you," he said with a smile.

He walked across the room and leaned over the bed.

Elizabeth remained absolutely still and anticipated his touch.

And then she felt them. His lips. On hers.

"Success," Jack said happily.

"I think that means I love you more than coffee," he murmured deliciously in her ear before backing up.

Elizabeth scooted over on the mattress and lifted back the white coverlet. "Come back to bed."

"I'd love to, but you're going to be late."

* * *

Elizabeth didn't have a chance to ask Jack about how he planned to become whole again – more solid than his ghostly form -, and she didn't want to criticize him for falling asleep on her last night while she had intended a more romantic night in bed.

 _Men can be so sensitive. Even ghostly ones. Best not to mention that I was expecting a bit more last night,_ she decided.

In yesterday's preoccupation over Jack, the crowded coal mine, and Jack's incredible kisses, Elizabeth had forgotten that today was the town's Founder's Day picnic. It wouldn't be important to her except that she, as the town's school teacher, was in charge of a large part of the activities.

When Jack had reminded her of the planned events for the day, she had hurried out of bed and quickly gotten dressed.

* * *

"Don't hit me", Elizabeth yelled at one of her students who was coming dangerously close to assaulting her with a baseball.

"Sorry, Mrs. Thornton!"

Elizabeth pulled her body back to avoid being injured by the flying round object and then side-stepped a small pile of horse manure.

She was juggling a tray of eggs in one hand and had a handful of spoons in the other when she faltered slightly. As she steadied the eggs, she noticed a drop of green paint from an earlier project had splattered onto her pretty white blouse.

 _Why am I a teacher_ , she muttered to herself.

"Florence!" she called out. "Can you take this over to the group over there?" Elizabeth nodded in the direction of ten boys and girls waiting to start an egg race. "I've got to make sure the treasure hunt is ready."

"I'll handle the treasure hunt, Elizabeth," Abigail said as she walked over with Florence. "Why don't you go inside the school house and sit for a while? You've been running around for hours."

"Thank you," Elizabeth answered appreciatively. She unloaded the eggs and spoons into Florence's hands, handed a piece of paper with a list of "treasures" to Abigail, and wiped away a film of sweat on her forehead. "It's a bit hotter than I thought it would be today. I am a bit tired. Lunch is in twenty minutes. I'll just check on the food inside."

* * *

An hour later, Elizabeth set the remaining bite of her sandwich on the napkin on her lap and chuckled softly as Madge - a mother of three - told the small crowd of women a story about darning her husband's socks while her two-year-old daughter had run around yelling "darn" at the top of her lungs.

The women were sitting in the school house pews or standing nearby enjoying the relative calm after lunch in the otherwise hectic day.

Every once in a while, a child would run inside the building, grab a cookie or quick drink of lemonade from the refreshment table, and race down the steps again.

Elizabeth glanced at the long table which was covered in barren platters and near-empty bowls. The tablecloth under the dishes was splattered with bits of potato salad, egg salad, and she noticed that it was now stained with dark blobs from a blueberry pie. Elizabeth decided not to let it bother her even though the tablecloth, one of hers from Hamilton, would probably never be pristine white again.

The egg race was over, but the treasure hunt was still in play, jump ropes were cutting through the air outside to the rhythm of children chanting, and another impromptu game of baseball had begun.

The talk of mending socks caused Dottie, half owner of the town's sole dress shop, and Rosemary, the other half owner of the dress shop, to turn the conversation to new styles and fabrics.

"Elizabeth, whenever the time is right, you just let me know and I'll start sewing up the prettiest blouses for you," Rosemary said with a glance towards Elizabeth's still flat stomach.

"Thank you, but I think it will be a few more months."

Rosemary scrutinized Elizabeth's figure. "Maybe. Maybe not. You did eat three sandwiches just now", she replied knowingly and then gave Elizabeth a smile which seemed to indicate that she found Elizabeth's newly acquired appetite to be unladylike.

Elizabeth refused to be chastised by her well-meaning friend and instead rolled her eyes. "Thank you for counting for me."

Before she could give a further response, Elizabeth was interrupted.

"Elizabeth", Jack said slightly breathless as he appeared at her side. Which would be unusual enough on its own except it was made even more unusual because part of him was standing in the same spot which Dottie was occupying.

A startled Elizabeth almost spilled her glass of lemonade.

"You've got to come quick!"

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow at Jack and crinkled her nose. Clearly, she couldn't just jump up and follow him somewhere just because he suddenly showed up wanting an impromptu make-out session or to discuss that he figured out how to make a pot of coffee.

 _What does he expect me to do? Say I have to run off to the outhouse to pee,_ she thought in bewilderment.

 _Oh, wait, that would be a logical excuse to get up and leave._

Without waiting for a response, Jack spoke again.

"The Snyder boy, Watson, he's gone into the pond," Jack said hurriedly. "He had a butterfly net and was trying to catch something. I yelled at him, but he didn't hear me."

"So?" a confused Elizabeth asked aloud, momentarily forgetting to hide her conversation with Jack as she wondered if the five-year old was trying to catch frogs.

"Of course, we sew", Dottie replied dismissively in Elizabeth's direction as she continued to talk with the other women about the dress shop.

"He's struggling," Jack declared. He furrowed his brow in concern.

"Struggling?"

Dottie, who was still occupying the same space as Jack, stopped talking at Elizabeth's question and the women all looked inquisitively at her.

"No, we're not struggling financially," Dottie said with a frown. "Why would you say that? Did someone say we were struggling?"

A worried Jack ignored Dottie and focused his gaze on Elizabeth. "He can't swim! I can't pull him out. I tried but I can't feel him. I think he's drowning."

"Drowning?!" Elizabeth dropped her glass on the nearby table and jumped to her feet.

"We are NOT drowning," Rosemary said adamantly. "Yes, we've got some debts. But that's to be expected when you open a business. But we are certainly not drowning in debt!"

"Are you sure?!" Elizabeth asked frantically.

"Of course, I'm sure. Lee's not the only one with a good business- sense. Why, if you ask me –"

"I didn't stay to watch! You've got to hurry!" Jack said over Rosemary's whining voice.

Elizabeth pushed past the women and rushed towards the door. "Watson's drowning in the pond!"

"Hurry!" Jack yelled anxiously.

Her skirt felt heavy as Elizabeth, leaving the startled women to stare after her, ran down the steps towards the large pond where Jack had seen her young student.

She looked over her shoulder in the direction of the men who were playing more than a hundred feet away from the school house in an effort to keep a wayward baseball from hitting a window.

"THE POND!" she managed to yell out as she didn't stop moving but ran in the opposite direction towards the body of water.

* * *

"Where is he?!" an out-of-breath Elizabeth gasped to Jack when she didn't see the small boy.

"On the far side! Behind the cattails!"

By the time the baseball players, rope jumpers, treasure hunters, and other assortment of individuals comprehended that something was wrong, Elizabeth had already entered the murky water. Splashing frantically as she moved, she had no regard for the waterfowl and lily pads which she was disturbing.

"Watson, where are you?!" she desperately called out as the weight of her long wet skirt caused her to move slower than she would like.

"Over here!" Jack called out. He had disappeared from her side and was now waving to her from thirty feet away.

As she got closer, the splashing sound coming from behind the five-foot tall slender stalks let her know Watson was still struggling.

The water was past her waist when out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth saw Bill Avery overtaking her. His long legs raising up high in an awkward gait as he raced through the water sending splatters of it in her direction.

Four seconds later, the man was holding the small boy, who was coughing and looking panicked.

* * *

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

Elizabeth held her side and bent over slightly as she stood on the edge of the pond away from the large crowd that was now hovering over Watson. The boy's frantic father who had been a few seconds slower than Bill was now gently hitting the boy on his back to help him cough up more water.

"I'm fine," she replied with a gulp of air as her worried husband looked at her.

"You're holding your side"

"Stich", she gasped. "It hurts."

"Is it the baby?"

"Not unless he or she is made of whalebone."

"Whalebone?" a perplexed Jack crinkled his brows.

"It's my corset, not the baby that's bothering me," Elizabeth explained as she took a deep breath and winced. "This thing has got to go."

* * *

Someone brought Elizabeth a glass of water and she sat on the school house steps to calm down.

The area was a buzz of activity as parents counted their children to make sure no one else had wandered into a predicament, adults and children huddled around Watson, with the adults breathing sighs of relief and the children excitedly whispering about whether they could swim and what could have happened to five-year-old Watson, and Abigail hovered over Elizabeth.

Carson, with his stethoscope earpieces firmly in place, held the device's resonator on the small boy's chest and ordered him to take deep breaths.

Elizabeth barely paid attention to the conversations around her and had to be asked twice before she realized Abigail was asking her a question.

" _How_ ever did you know, Elizabeth?"

"How?" she said hesitantly

"Yes, how did you know?" Mrs. Bladstone, the blacksmith's wife, asked curiously. "No one else noticed."

"Didn't they?" Elizabeth suggested feebly.

"No. They didn't."

"I'd like to know that too," Rosemary noted with a nod. "We were all inside together. How could you possibly know that adorable little boy was drowning?"

"I saw him through the window," Elizabeth lied.

Dottie glanced around. "I don't see how that's possible. You were sitting in one of the pews on the far side of the building."

 _Why does this feel like the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition?!_

 _Or when Galileo was on trial for saying that the sun was the center of the universe. Stupid. He should just have kept his mouth shut._

Elizabeth looked to Jack for help but he giving her an appraising look. As if he was considering what to do about her appearance. Elizabeth couldn't blame him if he was disgusted with her. Her skirt was filthy wet, her blouse was wet in splotches, and she had bits of algae clinging to the fabrics.

"I meant I saw him through the window when I was getting my food. So, I knew he was heading in the direction," Elizabeth replied. "I really should get out of my wet clothes," she added quickly to put an end to the discussion.

"That was my thought exactly," Jack said with a pensive voice. "In fact, I was just thinking about how to get you out of those clothes. And out of that whalebone corset you mentioned. I was trying to decide if I should take off your blouse first -with my teeth, or maybe start by lowering your skirt over your sexy knickers."

Elizabeth sputtered in her water.

"Are you okay?" Abigail asked.

Elizabeth nodded and felt herself blush. "I'm fine. Just drank too fast."

"How did you know he was in trouble?" Florence asked. "You couldn't have seen him go into the pond."

"I uh. Well, I uh," Elizabeth stuttered.

Jack had moved to the step behind her and was trailing a finger along her back. "I love your back. I love it even better when you're naked. I most definitely think I'd like to see you naked in the next ten minutes."

Abigail frowned when she saw Elizabeth shiver. "Are you cold? Hickam", she called out as she turned to the lumber mill's pasty-skinned and hapless employee who had just tripped over a rock, "Can you bring Elizabeth that picnic blanket?"

"I'm fine. I just should get going home!" Elizabeth squealed out the last word as Jack, who had moved in front of her, ran a hand along her skirt coming dangerously close to the area below her waist.

Elizabeth jumped up. "I'm just going to hurry home now. If you ladies could clean up, I would really appreciate it."

"But I still don't understand how –" Florence began to ask but Elizabeth was already hurrying off.

The women watched her quickly move away.

"That's odd. Do you think she has a tadpole or some guppies in her clothes?" Dottie asked as Elizabeth jerked her body away from Jack who had grabbed her derriere. "Look how she's twitching about."

"Poor dear. She probably overly excited by everything."

"It's been a long day for her. I suspect that she just needs to go to bed for a while."

 **Up Next: Chapter 13.**

 **Dear MaryMary, I put a special line in just for you. Hope you noticed it! :)**


	13. Chapter 13 - Teacher's Intuition

**Dear Readers: Thanks again for all your reviews. Someone asked if E or J is "dreaming" in this story and the answer is no. They are not dreaming. :) I like to believe that love can do some incredible things and that's the premise for this story. Their love - along with their wedding vows- caused Jack to still be around.**

 **TEACHER'S INTUITION**

Elizabeth gingerly put her feet over the side of the mattress and debated whether to pull the bed's flat sheet around herself or just walk naked to the window to see who was knocking on the front door.

Not wanting to wake Jack, she decided to leave the sheet and go bare. After all, it would be easy enough to stay hidden while she peeked out the window from behind the curtain.

"Where you going?" Jack mumbled when he felt her rise from the bed.

"Just to the window. Someone knocked on the door," she replied softly.

"Come back soon," he said as he stretched out an arm in a lazy attempt to reach her and then dropped it back to the mattress

"It was just Rosemary," Elizabeth announced as she saw the woman walk away and enter her own house next door. "She's gone."

Elizabeth looked at her husband who was sprawled on the mattress. The wrinkled sheet which had become untucked on both sides and even from the foot of the bed grazed his hips leaving his strong naked back exposed.

"I thought you were asleep."

"Can't sleep. Too busy thinking about how incredible you are," he replied with a yawn. He opened his eyes briefly to look at her.

Elizabeth knew she wasn't incredible. Incredible was what Jack had done when they had come back from the Founders day picnic.

Incredible. Fantastic. Wonderful. Breathtaking. Mind blowing.

She'd need a thesaurus to come up with all the possible adjectives to describe how he had made her feel and the reference book still probably wouldn't be able to come up with an accurate description that did him justice.

Her whole body felt excited, peaceful, glowing. To describe her feeling as both peaceful and excited was a bit of an oxymoron – something the English teacher part of her frowned on using - but it was true.

Elizabeth's earlier fear that Jack might POOF when he exerted himself had proven totally unfounded. He hadn't come even close to disappearing.

What he had done was make her feel . . . .

WOW.

Absolutely WOW.

The only downside was when they had finished and she was lying in her arms, she had blurted out the first think that had come to her mind.

"Oh, my goodness, you should have died ages ago! After our wedding but before our honeymoon!"

Which apparently was not the most appropriate thing to say after making love for the first time in months.

"You did not just say that!" an astonished Jack had responded as he pulled back slightly in disbelief.

"Sorry! Sorry! I didn't mean it like that! I honestly didn't!"

Jack had given her the look he usually reserved for a jailed prisoner who had let him down by misbehaving.

"You just said you wished I had died practically the second after we said our vows. Did you even want me to make it down the aisle alive?"

His voice had sounded stunned.

"Of course!"

"Maybe you wanted me to trip and fall on my weapon sometime between the reception and carrying you over the threshold?" he had asked with raised eyebrows. "Shoot myself up?"

"Stop it! Don't say things like that."

"Anything to improve the wedding night for you," he had replied dryly.

Elizabeth had shifted her body and looked him in the eyes. "I love you. You know that. I would never wish you had died. I want you with me forever," she had told him earnestly.

"I meant it when I said that I was giving you my soul for eternity," she had added intently.

At her heartfelt words, Jack had cupped her face in the palm of one of his hands and lovingly kissed her. "You're forgiven."

"Thank you," she had whispered tenderly earning a smile from Jack.

"So, I take it that you'd like a repeat performance sometime?"

"Oh, yes! Elizabeth had said eagerly like a child in a candy store.

 _He is wonderful,_ she had thought happily before snuggling up against him where she had remained until the she had heard the knock on the front door.

* * *

"What do you think she wanted", Jack now asked as Elizabeth crawled back onto the bed and straddled his back. She began to massage his shoulders.

"Probably just to check on me. She means well."

"She's a pest." Jack mumbled into the mattress where he lay sprawled on his stomach. "How long do you think until someone else comes to check on you?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Why do you think?" he asked. His voice sounded seductive even when he wasn't trying as he flipped his body over so she was now straddling his naked chest.

* * *

The next afternoon, Elizabeth was still feeling happy as she hummed a pretty tune and walked to the Mercantile. Jack was off doing "rounds" but that didn't keep her from thinking about him and how he managed to do things to her that made her feel – well – she realized that she was running out of adjectives.

When she started to pass two men in the street, Elizabeth quickly remembered to stop humming.

 _Sad. Sad. I must be solemn and in mourning_ , she reminded herself.

She and Jack had talked about how she should act. _Slowly allow myself to be happy in front of people. Eventually pretend that I'm grateful for the time I had with Jack and acknowledge that he would not want me to be sad forever._

The bell hadn't even finished making a jingling sound with the opening of the Mercantile door, when Elizabeth spotted several women standing in a group near the shelves of flour and oats.

 _Oh no, the ladies. Let's hope they've forgotten about the pond incident._

"Elizabeth! We were just talking about the incident at the pond", Rosemary said as she waved enthusiastically to Elizabeth.

"Emma was telling us how grateful she was and how bad she feels about letting little Watson out of her sight. Now you remember, Elizabeth, when you have Jack's baby, never let that little darling Thornton out of your sight," Rosemary instructed her.

"I can't thank you enough, Elizabeth," Emma Watson said gratefully as she looked at Elizabeth. The woman gave her an affectionate squeeze on her arm. "And I'm so glad to see that you didn't take ill after running and going into the pond."

"I'm fine, and you're welcome. I'm just glad Watson's fine. He's a joy to have as a student."

"How did you know he was drowning?" Rosemary pestered.

 _Not this again,_ Elizabeth thought when Rosemary asked the question that no one had been able to solve.

"I must have heard him calling," Elizabeth responded with a friendly smile and then reached for a small bag of flour from the shelf closest to her. She moved past the women and put the item on the front counter before turning to get the rest of the items she needed to purchase.

"No. I don't think so," Faith reported. "He wasn't calling out. Several of us outside would have heard."

"Really? He wasn't?" Elizabeth asked feebly.

"No, he wasn't."

"You probably didn't hear him over the children screaming with the jump-roping and baseball game. There was a lot of commotion."

"Then how could you have heard him inside the school house?"

"Good ears." Elizabeth moved to the shelf of canned goods but the women followed her.

"I don't think so," Dottie said. "I have perfect hearing. I didn't hear him say anything and I was standing right next to you."

"Are you sure he wasn't calling out 'Help, I'm drowning in the pond near the cattails?'" Elizabeth asked with a pensive frown. She lifted a can of beans and pretended to scrutinize the label.

Dottie shook her head. "No, he wasn't calling out."

"Not even a whimper of 'oh no, I can't swim'?" Elizabeth suggested hopefully.

"No," Florence declared.

"Some splashing sounds?"

The women gave Elizabeth odd looks.

"No, nothing. No one heard him," Florence noted adamantly.

Elizabeth noticed two other customers had stopped shopping and were now standing close by to listen in on the conversation.

"Maybe it's the pregnancy," Elizabeth offered suddenly. "Mr. Yost, do you have any chalk? I need some for the school" she added over her shoulder at the store owner.

"The pregnancy?" Dottie inquired. "Why your pregnancy?"

"I think it gave me a heightened sense of knowing when a child is in danger. The whole 'mother thing'."

"What mother thing?" Faith asked. The nurse set down her basket on the floor and looked at Elizabeth questioningly.

"You know, - how mothers know when a child is in trouble. Did you know that mother crickets teach their children about danger even before they're born? And pigs have some incredibly heightened senses?"

 _Where did the heck did that come from?! Oh yes, last month's National Geographic magazine._

Elizabeth realized she was getting slightly off topic, but she didn't care. In fact, she preferred it.

Florence looked puzzled. "I'm a mother and I didn't notice anything."

"Well, different mothers must notice different things," Elizabeth replied knowingly as she moved to the front counter and set down the can next to her bag of flour. "Some mothers just notice more things I guess. I'm still new at this mother thing but that must be it. Chalk, Mr. Yost?"

Emma's face took on an offended look before she sternly spoke. "I actually AM his MOTHER and I didn't know he was in danger".

Elizabeth had no idea how to respond to that so she picked up a can with an odd-looking label and pretended she didn't hear the woman.

 _What the heck is liver loaf? I don't want that._

When she turned back from the counter, the woman was still staring at her with a critical look.

"Are you saying that ANIMALS are better mothers than me?"

"No, of course not! I'm sure you're a better mother than a pig!"

 _Okay, now that probably didn't come out right._

"A pig? You're comparing me to a pig?!"

"No! That's not what I meant –"

"Are you accusing me of being a bad mother?!"

"No -"

"Because if you think that your pregnancy makes you a better mother to my Watson, I think you are out of line."

"I didn't mean –"

A ruffled Emma interrupted her again. "I'll have you know that I am an excellent mother. Excellent."

"I'm sure you are!" Elizabeth graciously replied. "I just meant that maybe I was more attuned to his needs –"

"More attuned to his needs?!"

"Because I spend so much time with him," Elizabeth added hurriedly as she tried to appease the woman.

"That's a bit presumptuous of you, Elizabeth", Rosemary interjected but then backed up when Elizabeth glared at her and Emma's cheeks were now burning red with ire.

"I may have been too busy to read him a bedtime story every now and again, but I'd hardly say that I've been neglectful!"

"I'm not saying neglectful!" Elizabeth protested. "I just meant that I am used to keeping an eye on him during the day."

"And I'm not?! You're a school teacher, it's your job to keep an eye on him during the school hours! I've been keeping an eye on him during the days and nights for five years!"

"Well you did let him out of your sight and he went into the pond," Elizabeth muttered just under her breath.

 _Honestly, I don't have time to deal with this. I have a ghost husband who will be home from his rounds soon._

Emma looked like she had been slapped. "You have no idea what it's like to be a mother! You're barely even pregnant!"

"I know I'll never let MY baby walk into a pond!" Elizabeth countered hotly.

Emma's eyes grew even wider in shock at Elizabeth's outburst. "You're not even a mother yet!" she screamed. Without another word ,she set down her basket of goods and stormed out of the store.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, it wasn't mother's intuition. IT WAS JACK!" Elizabeth called out as the door closed behind the irate woman.

Elizabeth shook her head in disgust at the situation and then turned around. It was then that she noticed that an elderly woman – Mrs. Purdue – who lived on the outskirts of town was giving her an odd look. Elizabeth gave her a weak smile and then glanced around the store.

The normally busy mercantile was oddly quiet.

No one was talking.

It was so silent that Elizabeth would have thought that the store was empty except for the fact that it was full of people standing still and staring at her.

It seemed as if her outburst had caused the store customers, and even Mr. Yost, to stop what they were doing and simply look at her.

"It was Jack?" Dottie finally ventured to ask with a frown.

"Not Jack Jack. Jack's thought," Elizabeth sputtered. "I meant it's what Jack always said."

"What did Jack always say?" Rosemary asked curiously.

 _How the heck should I know?!_

"That I had teacher's intuition!" Elizabeth shouted out when the idea popped into her head.

"Teacher's intuition?"

"Yes, teacher's intuition," she repeated firmly.

"What's teacher's intuition?" the town's blacksmith asked.

" _What's teacher's intuition? What's teacher's intuition?!_

Elizabeth wracked her brain for something intelligent to say as she vaguely remembered Jack complimenting her on how she well she could read her students.

"You have to realize that I spend at least six hours a day with these children," she began. "I watch them study, play at recess, they talk to me about their ideas. Jack used to say that as a teacher, I have an innate sense of where they are and what they may be thinking and doing."

"And the Watson boy was thinking about drowning?" a man who Elizabeth barely knew asked skeptically.

"No, but I saw him with a net earlier chasing a butterfly, and –"

"The butterfly was thinking about drowning the boy?" the man interrupted even more skeptically than before. "Because I don't see how that's possible."

Elizabeth sighed with frustration. "No! I know that Watson likes butterflies and bugs. Subconsciously, I realized that I hadn't seen him in a while when the other children were going back and forth to get cookies and lemonade. And I must not have heard him singing with the jumping ropes or the men cheering his name on in baseball. So, subconsciously, my mind was wondering where he was. And then, my teacher's intuition kicked in," she finished with a flourish.

"Teacher's intuition?"

"Hmm. Hmm," Elizabeth nodded enthusiastically. "I am so attuned to my students. I can even tell what they've had for breakfast."

"What they've had for breakfast?" a doubtful Dottie asked.

"Yes, definitely. Like a detective. Jack said it was similar to his Mountie skills. I notice things about them. Crumbs on their clothes. The smell of syrup. Squirming means they're hungry. Things like that."

"Teacher's intuition? Who would have thought," one of men holding a can of corn said in awe.

"I have something similar," Rosemary piped up. "Just an innate sense of women's lives by looking at their fashion or lack thereof. Take Florence for example . . .."

Elizabeth quickly excused herself from the crowd, bought two items -deciding to skip the rest of the items she needed, and hurried from the store. As she made her way home, she didn't need a thesaurus to tell her what words the town citizens were probably using to describe her. Odd. Offbeat. Eccentric.

She shifted the bag of flour in her arm, and wondered how long it would be until Jack came back from his rounds.

* * *

Elizabeth had just finished pouring the bag of flour into the metal canister and put it back on the Hoosier cabinet in her small kitchen area when Jack popped in next to her.

"Hey beautiful."

His sudden appearance caused a surprised Elizabeth to almost knock over the canister. She still wasn't used to his ability to appear from out of nowhere, and her hands trembled slightly as she steadied the canister before she turned to Jack and gave him a smile.

"Uh oh. Something's wrong," he said when he took one look at her face.

"Just the town thinking I'm crazy," she answered with a shrug.

"Everything turn out okay?"

"I handled it. Just some people were being nosy about how I knew about Watson almost drowning. And I have to apologize to his mother for insinuating that crickets and farm animals are better mothers than she is. Which, for all I know may actually be true."

"Do I want to ask?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I finally just said I have teacher's intuition."

"Teacher's intuition? I used to say that about you."

"I know. And I babbled on about breakfasts."

"Breakfasts?"

"Don't ask."

"What else is wrong?"

"Who says something else is wrong?"

"You've got that half-frown you get when you're mentally tired. And the twinkle is missing from your eyes."

"I missed you," she admitted. "You were gone all morning. I don't like letting you out of my sight."

"Sorry, I wanted to check on some of the outlying areas."

"I'm glad you're busy. I just missed you."

"I think I know just how to fix that."

Jack took her hand and began leading her away from the kitchen.

"Where are we going?"

"Upstairs."

"How do you know that's what I need," she asked teasingly.

"Mountie's intuition. You would not believe what Mounties are capable of", he added seductively in her ear.

 **Up next: Chapter 14**


	14. Chapter 14 -The interesting conversation

**CHAPTER 14 – THE INTERESTING CONVERSATION OVER TEA**

"The fence on the edge of the Clayton property is falling down. The cattle will get out and ruin the Jacobson's fields," Jack said as he peered down at Elizabeth.

He was sitting on the edge of her desk in the school house while her students were running outside enjoying the lunch recess.

After the excitement of the Founders day picnic, the drama at the mercantile yesterday, and an apology to Watson's mother when the woman dropped off her son to school this morning, things were getting back to normal.

"Clayton fence. Got it," Elizabeth said as she finished writing on the white piece of paper in front of her.

"I think there's a fisher cat that's been eating the McMarton's chickens," Jack announced with barely a pause.

"Okay. That's not going to work," Elizabeth told him as she set down her pencil. "I can't tell Bill I saw a fisher cat. I don't even know what a fisher cat is."

"It's like a weasel. Just tell him you saw a weasel."

"Weasel. Got it."

Elizabeth scribbled a few words on the paper and then looked at Jack. "What else?" she asked.

"I think that's enough for now."

Elizabeth held up the sheet of paper and read the words Jack had dictated. "Don't forget to do monthly reports. Check the Wanted posters. Make sure there are no trappers in Mountainside Creek. Get the path south of town cleared. Help Mr. Clayton fix his fence. And make sure a weasel doesn't eat the McMartons remaining chickens."

She set down the paper and looked at Jack. "You know, it's going to take me some imagination and time to tell Bill all this."

"You'll come up with something," a confident Jack replied.

"But _ALL_ this? Don't you think Bill will think it's a bit odd that I've taken such an interest in all things flora and fauna?"

"I don't want him to miss anything. I wish I could still handle everything. It's still my territory," he added wistfully.

Elizabeth smiled. "You are still handling it. Just through me."

"You'll do a good job," Jack responded.

"You have a lot of confidence in me. Full time teacher and now part-time Mountie."

"Not to mention, pregnant with my baby", he said with a grin.

"That's the best part."

"If I didn't think one of your students would walk in, I'd reach over and kiss you right now, but I don't think you seemingly kissing nothing would help with your reputation."

"Darn students. What are they even doing here?" Elizabeth said teasingly.

"I think someone built you this school house in a desperate attempt to woo you."

"Ah yes, I remember that now. A handsome young Mountie who couldn't stop thinking about me," she responded smugly.

"I still can't," he admitted with a grin. "And now you're making me want to reach over and kiss you."

"We can't have that. What would the students say?" she challenged with a twinkle in her eyes. "Poor Mrs. Thornton's kissing the air. She's lost it."

Jack chuckled. "I promise to kiss you at home. A lot."

"I'll hold you to that. I assume I can trust a Mountie to keep his word."

Jack chuckled. "You can trust me. But now that I've finished rounds, I'm going to go visit Ma."

A passing look of concern crossed Elizabeth's face. "It's been a busy last few days. Are you sure you've got enough strength?"

"Yeah, it's no problem. She can't see or hear me and it doesn't take as much energy just to be around her. I think she can feel my presence though."

"Be home by dinner? I know you don't eat but I like your company."

"I promise. Home for dinner. Who would have thought I'd ever miss you're cooking?" he asked with a grin.

* * *

Elizabeth carried the metal tin in one hand and knocked on the farmhouse door with the other. With Jack gone for the afternoon, she had decided it was time to finally return some dishes that had been sitting on the floor by her door for too long. After Jack's "accident" and her return to Hope Valley, there had been a steady stream of meals provided by the women of the town. Small casseroles that she would never finish. Loaves of bread that became dry as they sat uneaten on her counter. Pies that she numbly ate without even tasting what kind of berry was inside the pastry.

In those days without Jack, she had picked at the food and then usually scraped the uneaten remains into her trash can.

Her upbringing had installed in her that a proper lady always wrote a thank you card and returned a borrowed dish within a respectable time period. She had been lax in both.

Today, she planned on making up for that. She had already returned four dishes in the last hour, and now had just one left.

"Mrs. Thornton, how nice to see you," the attractive woman in her sixties announced when she opened her door and saw Elizabeth standing on her front porch.

"Hello, Mrs. Purdue. I wanted to return your dish. I'm sorry I'm so late."

"Call me Hazel. Come inside," the woman said as she ushered Elizabeth inside without waiting for an answer. "I'll make tea. I was hoping you'd stop by. It saved me a trip from intruding on you."

Elizabeth sat in the farmhouse front room with its simple but comfortable furniture and looked around at her surroundings while the home's resident checked on the tea kettle. Elizabeth didn't want to stay too long but she also didn't want to be rude, especially after the scene yesterday at the mercantile that Hazel had witnessed. Besides, Jack wouldn't be home for at least another hour. She had time for a cup of tea and conversation.

As her eyes took in the room, she quickly realized that there really wasn't much to look at in the farmhouse. The Purdues clearly didn't have a lot of money. Elizabeth didn't know the couple well but she had seen them enough at church and other occasions to know that they seemed happily married and lovingly comfortable with each other.

A yellow and blue crocheted blanket was placed on the back of the couch. A large oval shaped rag-rag covered a portion of the old but clean wood planked floor. A spinning wheel was in the corner – evidence that Hazel made the most of the family's small flock of sheep.

Elizabeth paused at the framed black and white photograph on the small end table next to her.

It was obviously a wedding photo.

A young Hazel Purdue, holding a bouquet of flowers, was smiling broadly while wearing a lacy white dress. Standing next to her was an equally young blond-haired man in a dark suit. He was slender and only a few inches taller than her – probably about five-foot nine or ten inches in height if Elizabeth had to guess. His grin spread across his face as if every one of his dreams had come true that day.

 _That's a wedding photo but that's NOT Mr. Purdue_ , Elizabeth thought in bewilderment.

"One of my favorite photos", Hazel noted as she walked in the room and saw Elizabeth examining the photograph. "My husband was so handsome. I loved his blond curls."

The woman set the tea tray on the small wooden table and handed a cup and saucer to Elizabeth.

"I didn't know you were married before Mr. Purdue. I thought you had been married to him for decades," Elizabeth observed.

"We have. Our fiftieth anniversary is next week." Hazel motioned to the photo. "That was my first wedding. Stan and I were childhood sweethearts. We married at eighteen. He was killed in an accident a few months later."

"I'm so sorry."

"You and I have a similar tragic beginning to our marriages."

Elizabeth didn't respond at first but instead took a sip of tea and simply nodded.

"You and Mr. Purdue seem very happy together," she finally volunteered in an effort to be polite and because she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"We are. Please call him Jasper," the older woman said in a friendly voice. "We're meant to be together. Life has a funny way of working out. My mother used to say that just because a chapter in life's story is written one way doesn't mean you can't be surprised by the next chapter. If you want something badly enough, it can happen. You just have to want it badly enough."

"I heard your wedding was beautiful," Hazel said pleasantly when Elizabeth didn't respond but seemed saddened by the memory of her own short marriage.

"It was. Thank you."

"Weddings are always such happy occasions. Especially when a couple is deeply in love. It was so nice the way your friends pulled together to repair the church after the fire."

"Everything looked perfect," Elizabeth responded agreeably. "Even my new dress turned out."

"You and Jack wrote your vows yourself, I understand."

"We did."

"That's very romantic. Have a cookie," the elderly woman offered as she lifted a plate and held it in front of Elizabeth.

Elizabeth took one of the cookies from the offered plate and took a small bite. She heard that old women have nothing to talk about but weddings and babies and now wondered if it was true.

"Congratulations on your pregnancy. That's wonderful news."

 _Yep. That's all they know to talk about._

"Thank you. It's a blessing. . . . . Especially now with Jack gone."

"I saw you in the days after the wedding. Such a cute couple you made. You were walking down the sidewalks in front of the buildings in town and chasing after each other for kisses in that cute way that couples in love act."

Elizabeth blushed. "I hope we weren't acting too inappropriately. We were just so happy to finally be married."

Hazel smiled. "It wasn't inappropriate at all. It was lovely."

"Do you need more honey for your tea, dear?" the woman asked as she motioned towards the small jar of honey on the tray.

"No, this is perfect. Thank you."

" I saw you moving that same way the other day when you left the picnic."

Elizabeth sputtered in her tea as she remembered how Jack had been patting her derriere to tease her as she tried to walk away from the Founder's Day picnic in a dignified manner despite her algae covered and wet clothes.

"Here's a napkin my dear," Hazel said as she held out a small square cloth. "I was quite surprised to see you making those movements. But it made me happy."

"It was just a bug," Elizabeth offered. She had no idea why her twitching body would make the old women happy. Maybe the old woman got joy out of seeing people in uncomfortable predicaments.

"Just a bug and perhaps a tadpole from the pond. They got into my blouse," Elizabeth added as the woman took a sip of tea.

"It was your lower backside that seemed to be the area of concern," Hazel noted simply. "Not your blouse."

"Um, yes, quite a few tadpoles seemed to find their way down my skirt too."

"Of course, my dear, I would be crazy not to realize that."

Something about the way she said it so pleasantly made Elizabeth think the woman didn't believe her.

"Elizabeth, how old do you think I am?"

"Excuse me?"

"I asked how old you think I am."

"I really hadn't given it much thought," Elizabeth said with a frown of confusion.

"I am sixty-eight." The woman set down her tea cup, put her hands in lap as if she had made a decision, and spoke again.

"I liked your husband Jack. Before he went away to the Northern territories, he would come up here to check on us at least once a week. Sometimes, he'd come in for tea. He was so proud of you and your teaching. He said this town was lucky to have you."

"I was lucky to have him. The whole town was."

"He said that you were good at math. Are you?"

"Math? Yes, I suppose I am," a perplexed Elizabeth responded. "It just seems to come easily to me."

Elizabeth beginning to wonder if Hazel Purdue was just a tiny bit eccentric when the door opened.

"Hello, ladies."

A man with once dark hair that was now mostly grey took off his hat and wiped his brow. He smiled at the two women.

"Jasper, you remember Mrs. Thornton, Officer's Thornton's wife," Hazel said to her husband.

Jasper nodded. "Nice to see you again. I heard you saved a drowning boy earlier this week. Well done, little lady."

"Thank you, I was just lucky to have realized he was in danger."

When Elizabeth saw how lovingly Hazel looked at the elderly man in the dirty dungarees, she involuntarily looked to the end table with the wedding photograph of Hazel and her first husband.

"Elizabeth was admiring the wedding photograph," Hazel told her husband with a smile.

"I love that photo", Jasper said with his own smile. "I'll wash up for dinner."

* * *

"Thank you again for the pot pie you brought over and for the tea and cookies just now. It was very nice to finally meet you as more than just an acquaintance," Elizabeth said five minutes later as she stood on the front porch and said goodbye to Hazel.

"You're very welcome. I always enjoy company and don't get into town much."

"Elizabeth, dear?" Hazel paused in the doorway.

Elizabeth stopped on the front porch and turned back to look at the older woman.

"Do the arithmetic," the woman said in a motherly tone.

"The arithmetic?" a confused Elizabeth asked.

"I think our husbands had more in common than you realize. We should talk again. When you're ready".

"When I'm ready?"

Hazel nodded simply. "When you're ready."

"Hazel, you need me to take the chicken out of the oven?", Jasper's strong voice came from inside the house, causing Hazel to smile at Elizabeth and go back inside. She closed the door leaving a bewildered Elizabeth simply staring in confusion.

 _What the heck was that all about?_

* * *

"I can't stop thinking about it", Hazel said that night as she sat up in bed wearing her simple cotton nightgown.

"Honey, are you even sure?" her husband asked. He pulled back the worn bedsheet and crawled in next to her. The old mattress sagged under his six- foot three-inch frame.

"I'm not. But I have a hunch. Just the way she's been acting. The way she moved when she left the picnic -it was just like when her husband and she were being playful in town."

"Maybe it was like she said. A bug or something in her clothes."

"No. It was more than that. And everyone says they loved each other very much. You remember how he spoke of her. He was so proud of her. So enamored with her."

"Lots of people are in love, and proud of their spouses, and enamored with them. That don't mean nothing. Heck, I've got a rooster in the barn that I swear is in love with one of the hens."

"Very funny, old man", Hazel said sarcastically.

"Do you think she'll talk to you about it?"

Hazel shook her head. "Not yet. I hinted to the idea but it may take a while."

"Well, we got to get up early so stop thinking about it and get to sleep. I'm turning out the light," he responded as he lowered the wick on the kerosene lamp. "Good night."

"Good night. I love you, Stan."

"I love you, too."


	15. Chapter 15- The Dog Days of Summer

**CHAPTER 15- THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER**

As she had walked towards home, Elizabeth decided that Mrs. Hazel Purdue was merely an eccentric old woman. She had almost put the woman out of her mind, when she passed the Café where Abigail was outside sweeping the front porch.

"Hello, Elizabeth. Care to try some of my chicken special tonight?" her best friend called out as she stopped moving the broom.

"Not tonight. But thanks. I just came from Hazel Purdue's where she fattened me up on cookies."

"Hazel's cookies are almost as good as mine," Abigail replied with a smile.

Elizabeth paused for less than a second before asking a question. "What do you know about the Purdues?"

Abigail shrugged. "What's there to know? They're good people. They have three children - they come back to visit sometimes. Two sons and a daughter. Jasper's a good farmer."

Elizabeth crinkled her mouth. She had been hoping for a bit more information than that. "They seem happily married," she volunteered. "I just –"

She stopped speaking when she heard a faint whimpering sound that seemed to be coming from close to the ground. Frowning, she looked down towards her feet and then at the area around her. She even glanced around the corner of the building but saw nothing. The sound seemed familiar but it was so quiet she wasn't sure if she had actually heard something.

"Did you hear that?" she asked Abigail.

"The thunder in the distance? Yeah, a storm's coming in. You should get home soon."

Elizabeth frowned again at her ears playing tricks on her. If that was thunder, it sounded like the most un-thunder-like sound Elizabeth had ever heard.

"I'll make it home in time", she replied as she looked to the sky. " I was just wondering about the Purdues. They seem happily married."

"I think they're happy. They don't come into town much but I've never heard a harsh word between them. They still hold hands after all these years of being married. It's sweet," Abigail said with a smile. "One time, I saw him picking her a flower behind the church and when he gave it to her, you could tell how much they were in love."

"Did you ever notice anything odd about Hazel? Maybe eccentric?"

"About Hazel? No. Not at all," Abigail said as she began sweeping again. "She's actually very normal. I like her. She loves to knit and crochet when she's not helping Jasper run the farm. She usually makes a blanket for new babies in town. You'll probably get one."

"That will be nice," Elizabeth genuinely replied.

"Was it something in particular you were wondering about?"

"No, just curious. Hazel said that Jack used to stop by there on his rounds and she seemed very fond of him."

"Everyone was very fond of Jack," Abigail said tenderly. "He was a wonderful man. I've got to get inside. Customers will be arriving soon. Sure you don't want something to eat? It's my special recipe."

Elizabeth smiled. "I'm fine. Thanks."

* * *

Elizabeth heard the distant sound of thunder rolling into the valley as she tossed another blouse onto her bed and plopped down on the mattress.

She had stopped thinking about Hazel Purdue's cryptic remark because she had a more pressing problem on her mind.

The situation was hopeless.

Without her corset, she wouldn't be able to wear any of her blouses. The whalebone contraption which slimmed her figure and gave her a fashionable silhouette was the only reason that her blouses fit her so perfectly and that she didn't pop a button.

 _I am not getting back into that corset. It's getting too tight and it can't be good for the baby._

 _I may need to see Rosemary sooner than I thought. Or maybe I'll just order some things from the Sears Roebuck catalogue at the Mercantile. Or get Julie to mail me something. Until then, I'll have to borrow something._

Elizabeth was pondering if she should use all four options when she heard Jack call her name from downstairs.

"I'm upstairs!" she called back in response.

"We're home," he announced happily. "Sorry I'm a little later than I thought."

"We?" Elizabeth frowned in puzzlement. _Did he bring his ma back from Aberdeen? How?!_

She hurriedly stood up and went to the top of the staircase.

When she saw Jack standing alone at the bottom of the steps smiling up at her, she looked around the room expecting to see someone with him. But there was nothing. No one but shimmery Jack.

"I thought I heard you say 'we'", Elizabeth said with slight disgust as she walked down the steps. "I swear I need to get my ears checked. Can pregnancy affect one's hearing?"

Jack was grinning from ear to ear. "You did hear me say _we_. Isn't this a great surprise?"

Elizabeth gave him a curious look. "Isn't what a great surprise?" she asked.

"C'mon, are you telling me that you can't see him?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"See who?"

"Him!" Jack said with a flourish of his hand.

"Who?"

"Buddy, say something. Speak."

Elizabeth's eyes got wide in shock at the bark which came from thin air. "What was that?!"

Jack laughed. "Not what. Who. It's Rip! I found him in the cave mine. I thought I had heard him when we were there but things got so messed up with everyone invading our space that I forgot about it. And then today with the storm coming in, I decided to stop by and see if he was there. You know how he used to whimper and go there when he got scared of thunder. And he was there!"

"He's dead!"

"Well, yeah."

"He died when you were in the Northern Territories!"

Elizabeth knew her mouth was gaping open and her eyes were wide in shock but she couldn't help it when she heard another friendly bark coming from a few feet away.

"Well, yeah", Jack said again. "But now he's here."

"I had Bill bury him! I wrote you that he had died!"

"I know. But I had asked him to keep an eye on you when I was gone and I guess he felt bad that he didn't live long enough to do that. And he didn't get a chance to say goodbye to me. I think he's been hanging around the jail looking for me. But I'm not there that often and we probably just kept missing each other."

"He's a DOG!" she said in bewilderment as if Jack had forgotten that fact. "Why is he a ghost?!"

Jack looked slightly taken aback by Elizabeth's attitude.

"We were good buddies," Jack said with a shrug. "He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to me. He loved me. I think he considered me to be a brother to him."

"Are you telling me I have a ghost dog in my house?"

Jack looked at her with concern. "Hey, you're hurting his feelings."

"You have got to be kidding me?!

Jack bent down and scratched behind the dog's ears. At least Elizabeth assumed that what Jack was doing. She could see his hands moving in the air like some kind of pantomime. He could have been petting a lion or a small zebra for all she knew. Except they don't bark like an old Bassett Hound.

"And he always obeyed my orders," Jack noted as Elizabeth watched him snuggle his face against the unseen dog. "He probably felt like he would be disobeying me if he didn't keep an eye on you when I was gone. Even if he had died. He didn't want to let me down."

"So he stayed here on Earth to look after me? Because you had told him to?"

Jack nodded and spoke casually as he now rubbed the dog's belly. "Before I left for the Northern Territories I told him that you were the sun and the moon and the stars, and that he should never forget that. I guess he took it to heart."

"You said I was the sun, and the moon, and the stars?" Elizabeth asked softly in astonishment.

"Well, yeah, sure. You are to me," Jack responded as if the answer was obvious.

Elizabeth stared at Jack in awe. "You are the most romantic man in the world," she said in a stunned voice. "The most perfect romantic man in the world."

 _How did I get so lucky?_ she wondered as she watched her husband get knocked over by man's best friend.

 **Dear Readers: It seems some of you have figured out the love story of Hazel and her husband before Elizabeth has figured it out. Let's hope she thinks about it some more!**

 **Up next: The doctor's appointment.**


	16. Chapter 16 -Doctor's Appointment

**Dear Readers, to all the sweet reviewers who asked me to hurry up with the next chapter, here it is. 🙂**

 **CHAPTER 16 – THE DOCTOR**

Two days later, Elizabeth had pretty much gotten used to Rip and for the most part forgotten about him. His ghost form was quite similar to his earthbound form in that he was a lazy dog who liked to sleep. When Jack had named the animal after the fairy tale character Rip van Winkle, he had chosen the perfect name.

Initially unable to see Jack's best animal friend, Elizabeth had walked through him once, which earned a pitiful whine from the dog and encouragement from Jack that she should at least try to pet him.

"He never really liked me in the first place. He was jealous of me spending time with you," she had reminded Jack but she nevertheless held out her hand in the dog's general direction.

It wasn't until she had woken up the morning after his arrival to the fat Bassett Hound's hot breath on her, and then his flabby stomach as he laid across her legs, that Elizabeth surrendered to the idea of living with a ghost dog.

By lunch time, she had been able to very faintly see his outline. Which she decided was much more preferable than what had happened earlier at breakfast when she had dropped a piece of bacon on the floor only to see it be dragged around by the dog who was tantalized by the object but found he couldn't actually eat it. Unable to see Rip, Elizabeth had sat stunned as she had watched the bacon move past her feet like a dried snake slithering on the floor.

She had no idea how long the dog planned on staying with them but he made Jack happy, so Elizabeth found herself talking sweetly in the dog's direction and then petting him.

Not needed to be fed, and preferring to be asleep or with Jack, the animal generally ignored Elizabeth. It was as if he had done his job and was turning over the task of watching Elizabeth back to Jack.

* * *

"Elizabeth, I'm glad I caught up with you," the town's doctor said as he joined paces with Elizabeth when she walked home from school at the end of the day's lessons. "I was watching out for you."

"Hello, Carson." Elizabeth pleasantly greeted the man who had hurried out of his office when he had seen her through the window. "School just ended. Watson's ear was feeling better today. I think the warm oil you recommended did the trick."

"Glad to hear it. He's very lucky that you found him when you did."

"I think it would be a good idea to have all the children learn how to swim," Elizabeth suggested as the two walked down the street towards the row houses. "We live so close to the pond and the river, it really is essential."

Actually, it had been Jack's idea but she wasn't going to tell anyone that. Elizabeth had quickly gotten into the habit of taking all of Jack's suggestions and pretending they were hers. As if her pregnancy or widowhood had suddenly given her a wealth of ideas.

"That's a great idea. I can help round up some adults to teach lessons. We should have done it ages ago," Carson replied.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said appreciatively. "How soon do you think we can start? I'd like to do it while the weather's still good."

"I'll bring it up with some of the men this evening ", Carson promised. "And I'll see if Faith can mention it to some of the ladies. I'm not sure how many people in town know how to swim, but we should consider making this a town event. Get everyone involved."

"I'll send home notes with the students tomorrow," Elizabeth said eagerly. _Jack will be so pleased!_

"I actually wanted to talk to you about your health", Carson explained.

"My health? I'm fine."

"You're in the early stages of pregnancy, and ran through a field and into a pond to save a boy's life. You're also under a lot of stress due to . .. well . . .because Jack's not with you."

"I'm taking care of myself."

" I've noticed you're not wearing a corset any more. That's good but I'd like you to stop by the office for a check-up."

"Why is he looking at your body? He shouldn't be noticing if you're wearing a corset or not. I told you that he was interested in you."

Jack's irritated voice caused Elizabeth to jump in surprise.

"Are you okay?" Carson asked in concern when he saw Elizabeth's practically stumble on her feet. He reached out a hand and took ahold of her elbow to steady her.

"He's touching you," Jack grumbled.

"I heard some buzzing in my ear. It just took me by surprise, " Elizabeth explained as she threw a dirty look at Jack who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

 _It's like he has some sixth sense or something about when to show up._

 _I'll have to ask him about that._

 _It actually might come in handy sometime!_

"So, is tomorrow good?"

"Good? For what?" Elizabeth asked in confusion as she turned her attention back to Carson, and gently extricated her elbow from his hold.

"It better not be for dinner", Jack griped. "He better not be asking if it's good for dinner."

"For a check-up," Carson answered pleasantly. "Just the basics. I want to make sure your pulse is good, that you don't have any swelling, just go over some question you may have."

"I have a question. Why isn't he courting Faith yet? She's available. I got another question. Does he think because you're a widow, you're vulnerable to his charms?"

Elizabeth ignored Jack's jealous tirade because it was so ludicrous and replied to Carson instead.

"Tomorrow will be fine."

"I got another question," Jack interjected. "For a smart doctor why is he too stupid to know that Faith likes him?"

"Will Faith be there?" Elizabeth asked when she heard Jack's question.

"She doesn't need to be," Carson replied. "It's a simple check- up. But, if you'd like, I don't see why not. She'll be assisting me when you deliver so this way she'll be more familiar with your medical history."

"HE'S GOING TO DELIVERY OUR BABY?!" Jack yelled out in surprise.

Clearly, he had forgotten that Carson was the only doctor in town. The only thing Jack seemed to remember was that his wife was attractive and the town assumed he was out of the picture. "You'll be naked! Or close to it! He's just wants to deliver the baby because he's infatuated with you. I knew I couldn't trust him."

Elizabeth involuntarily jumped at Jack's booming voice causing Carson to frown and look at her with professional concern.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem a bit jumpy."

 _For Pete's sake, is Jack going to be jealous of every man that looks at me? Next thing you know, he'll be jealous of that goofball Hickam or old man Taylor, the blacksmith, or Ned Yost! Just because he's a ghost does he have to suddenly be insecure?!_

"I think I just got bit by a pesky irrational bug. Nothing to worry about."

Carson gave her an odd look.

"Are you sure? Want me to look at the bite?"

"No, I'm fine. Just a gnat probably," she answered pleasantly as she walked between the doctor on one side of her and Jack on the other.

"Why does he have to deliver the baby? You're a capable woman. You can do it," Jack noted.

"I just thought about something Jack said," Elizabeth added as she pretended to swat away a bug but her words were clearly meant for her husband.

"Something Jack said?"

"When we talked about having children, he said how glad he was that there was such a capable doctor in town so I wouldn't have to go through childbirth without proper medical attention. I know that he would understand how very grateful I am that you and Faith are here and that I'm not left to give birth by myself. I also know that despite how capable I am, he wouldn't expect me to deliver the baby by myself and moments later bite off the umbilical cord with my teeth."

A look of surprised bewilderment crossed Carson's face and he wondered if all pregnant widowed women have strange ideas. "With your teeth?" he asked in a stunned voice.

"Or my sewing scissors I suppose. I could weakly reach my blood-covered hand over while balancing the newborn baby on my chest and get my scissors from my sewing kit if I didn't have you in town," she replied. "But I'm glad that won't be the situation. Yes, I'm sure Jack would be very pleased that you will be handling the birth of his precious child."

"Fine", Jack grumbled.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow around 3:00?" Carson asked.

"Perfect. We'll – I mean _I'll_ be there."

 **Up next: Chapter 17**


	17. Chapter 17 - The Idea

**CHAPTER 17 – THE IDEA**

"What's the matter?" Jack asked the next day as soon as Elizabeth opened the front door to the row-house and they walked inside. He closed the door behind them and felt grateful that his body had worked on the inanimate object.

The doctor's appointment had gone well as far as Jack could tell. After a few questions and a simple check of her vital statistics, Carson had told Elizabeth that there wasn't any reason why she couldn't expect to have a healthy baby in December. Maybe even a Christmas baby.

The conversation between Jack and Elizabeth during the walk back from the doctor's office had been one-sided as Elizabeth couldn't talk due to several people outside enjoying the good weather. But Jack had noticed how pensive she was being.

He just didn't know why.

She should have been smiling at the good news from the check-up but the closer they had gotten to the row-house, the more solemn she had seemed to become.

Elizabeth picked up the pitcher on her kitchen table that she had filled earlier in the day and poured some water into a glass.

"Nothing's the matter," she said over her shoulder. "Carson says it should be an easy pregnancy."

"Elizabeth, I know you," a concerned Jack countered. "Something's bothering you. What is it?"

"I'm fine. I'm just being sentimental," she replied with a casual shrug. "Must be the pregnancy. Just ignore me."

"I will not ignore you so spit it out. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Elizabeth."

His voice inflection warned her that he wouldn't put up with her lie.

"I was just thinking about our baby," Elizabeth replied.

She kept her back to Jack so he wouldn't see how bothered she was over something stupid. She realized she was being childish and overly sentimental. "I want him or her to have a crib. That's all. Nothing important."

"Of course, he or she will have a crib," Jack said with a laugh.

"Why would you worry about something like that?" he said with a smile. "We've got months to get one. You can get a nice one sent by train. Maybe even have your folks get one at a department store in Hamilton."

"Not a store-bought one. I wanted one made by you," she replied quietly as her eyes became watery.

She quickly wiped at her face, took a sip of water, and set the glass back down before turning to face Jack. "I wanted you to make our baby's crib," she explained with a sad shrug. "It's stupid, I know."

The depth of everything they had lost hit him and Jack's smile evaporated.

"Ah, geez. I'm sorry, Elizabeth", he said tenderly.

He closed the distance between them and gently wrapped his strong arms around her. "I'm sorry I died," he whispered into her hair as he held her. "I'm so sorry."

Elizabeth sniffled. "It's not your fault. Neither one of us knew how things would turn out."

"It's not fair," he mumbled. "We were supposed to be together forever."

Elizabeth simply nodded as she pressed her sad head against him.

The couple stayed in their embrace – standing intertwined in the kitchen until the bark of Rip who had appeared at Jack's side caused Jack to pull back slightly. He gave the animal an irritated look, which resulted in a reprimanded Rip protesting with another bark before sulking away.

"Hey, I got an idea," Jack said abruptly. "We made one for Robert's family last Christmas. They should be done with it by next Christmas when our baby's due. Their kid will be a year old by then. We can have it. For our baby."

Elizabeth's eyes lit up and she quickly ran a blouse sleeve along her sniffling nose as she remembered the crib Jack had made when he had been on holiday leave from the Northern Territories. One of her students, Robert, had placed a wish for a crib on the town's "Wishing Tree", and Jack, thrilled to be home and eager to be involved in the town's events, had made the wooden baby bed.

"That's perfect.," Elizabeth exclaimed. "Our baby will have a crib you made!"

"And you helped me," he reminded her with a small smile as he fixed his eyes on hers. "I seem to remember you handed me the rails while pretending to look demure when you really wanted me to pull you into a kiss."

Elizabeth's lips went from a smile to a frown a split second later.

"But wait."

"What? What's wrong?"

"I feel funny asking for it back. That would be rude," she told him. "It was a gift to them. And kids can use cribs until they're two years old. What if they don't want to give it back?"

Jack waved away her concern. "Their kid can sleep with Robert. Just ask for it. I'm sure they'll agree."

"I don't know," Elizabeth frowned. "What if they think I'm being presumptuous to ask? Because they're still using it and I have money to buy a new one."

"So don't ask."

"Ooh," Elizabeth eagerly. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. "Can you just float into their house when they're asleep and bring it out with you?! Bring it home with no one noticing?!"

Jack gave her a look of comical disgust. "No, I cannot just float in their house and carry it out. I can't even make a pot of coffee yet. And what do you want me to do? Just dump out the baby and blanket on the floor?"

Elizabeth huffed at him. "Well, what do you have in mind?"

"Something much simpler than your idea."

"So tell me."

"Tell Abigail how you feel and she'll handle it. She'll delicately tell them how much you'd be touched to have the crib. That she thinks it would mean the world to you that our baby would have a crib I made. And they'll give it to you."

"That is much simpler," Elizabeth agreed with a thoughtful expression. "And if Abigail explained it that way, they'd give it to me. I'm sure of it."

"So you'll do it?"

"First thing tomorrow!"

* * *

"Jack?"

Elizabeth, not wanting to disturb Jack if he was already sleep, whispered in the dimness of their bedroom several hours later.

"Yeah?"

She turned onto her side to face him and propped herself on her elbow. Her mind was too busy to fall asleep. "Earlier tonight you said something about a blanket."

"What are you talking about?"

"When we were talking about getting a crib back, you said what were you supposed to do, drop the baby on the floor with the blanket."

"I was just joking, Elizabeth. You know I'd never drop a baby on the floor."

"I know," Elizabeth said dismissively. "That's not what I was thinking of. I was thinking of a baby blanket."

"Yeah, babies have blankets. So what? Because if you want one made by me that's not going to happen. I never made a blanket in my life. And I don't plan on making one now."

"Hush, silly. It just reminded me of Hazel Purdue. Apparently, she makes a blanket for each new baby born in town."

"That's sweet. I always liked Hazel and her husband. They're a nice couple. Can I go back to sleep now? Or did you want me to steal a blanket from them tonight?"

Elizabeth ignored his teasing and eagerly told him what had been on her mind. "When I had tea with her the other day, she said something odd about me and math."

"Math?"

"Mmm Mmm," Elizabeth murmured as she thought back to her conversation with the older woman. "She said I should do the math."

"What math?"

"I have no idea. That's the problem."

"What were you talking about with her?"

"Weddings and babies and the weather and just nothing much."

"And she told you to do the math?"

"Yes. It was really strange."

"It's not strange at all," Jack argued. "She probably was thinking about the baby's birthday. You know – telling you to figure out the date based on when we got married and our honeymoon. She must have realized that we may be having a Christmas baby. That it would be born around a special time. Maybe even with snow on the ground. Maybe she thought you hadn't realized it would be a Christmas or New Year's baby because you were so excited about being pregnant and also overwhelmed with me not being around."

Elizabeth's face got a pensive look to it. "I suppose. . . . That could be it."

"I'm sure it is. Now go to sleep. I love you."

Elizabeth lay her head down on her pillow but didn't close her eyes. Instead, she stared at the ceiling in the moonlight coming through the window.

"No. That's not it," she said with renewed determination as she sat up again. "Wake up."

"Elizabeth," Jack moaned.

"Listen to me. There was something more. I know it."

"What? What more?"

"I don't know."

Jack sighed in slight exasperation. "You just said you knew."

"I know that there was something up with her. You should have seen how she acted and heard her talking. She was being all mysterious."

"I thought she served you tea and cookies. What's so mysterious about that?"

"It was the way she talked about me leaving the picnic. How I moved about. And she gave me an odd look at the Mercantile when I was fumbling for an answer as to how I knew Watson was drowning."

"Maybe she's just wondering what color blanket to make you," Jack offered lazily. "Trying to guess if you were having a boy or a girl."

"She was not thinking about what color blanket to make me!" Elizabeth retorted. "Think. You're a Mountie. How could she know about you? That must be it."

A now wide-awake Jack turned on his side to face Elizabeth, and propped himself up on an elbow. "About me? You think she knows about me? Being a ghost?""

Elizabeth hesitated. "She knows something's up. And not just the math thing. She told me that our husbands may have something in common."

"Me and Jasper? What would we possibly have in common?"

"I don't know. That's what you have to figure out."

"How?"

"Go over there and investigate!" she urged with a gentle push.

"Now?!"

"Yes, now. I can't sleep thinking about it."

"I am not going over there now," Jack said firmly.

"Just sneak into their room and listen to them. Snoop around. They'll never know. Do that thing you do," she instructed with a wave of her hands.

"That thing I do?"

"Where you appear and disappear and move through space or whatever. How you get from one place to the other when you don't feel like walking."

"And spy on them?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said enthusiastically as she nodded her head.

"Fine. I'll go over tomorrow. But I feel odd spying on them."

"You're not really spying then. You're investigating. That's your job. To investigate crimes."

"What crime?" Jack scoffed. "She gave you tea and cookies and is going to make you a blanket for our baby. None of that is against the law."

"You'll see. She's up to something. Listen in on their conversations and see what you can find out. And go tonight. Now. Please."

"Elizabeth, I am not going to go tonight. It's 9:30 at night."

"So? You said you see well in the dark. Better now than before."

"I do see well in the dark –"

"Are you thinking that you'll need a warrant?" she interrupted pensively. "That might be a problem getting this late at night."

Jack looked at Elizabeth in bewilderment. "Why in the world would I need a warrant?! I'm a ghost! Do you think there's a ghost law enforcement office? The North North really North Royal Mounted Police?"

"Hush," Elizabeth said as she swatted him gently as she realized the stupidity of her question. "Then why don't you want to go over there tonight?"

"Maybe they're during something that I don't want to see. Did you ever think about that?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion. "Do you think they're doing something _illegal_? Then you should definitely go over. Once a Mountie, always a Mountie. Tell me what they're doing, and I'll tell Bill".

"What do I think?" he chuckled. "No, I don't think they're doing anything illegal. I'm pretty sure it's legal between married couples."

"They're probably in bed," Elizabeth said dismissively as she barely paid attention to what Jack was saying. Instead she reached her arm to the kerosene lamp on her nightstand and turned up the wick to illuminate the room. "Go on over."

Jack let out a sigh and smiled. "It's 9:30 at night and they are a happily married couple. They are either asleep – which means I couldn't eavesdrop on any conversation. _Or_ they are doing something that happily married couples do. Which I don't want to see and which would not help me with any investigation. And since we're now on the topic of what happily married couples do, and you're not letting me sleep, it only seems fair that we should be doing that other thing."

Jack reached an arm and his upper body over Elizabeth's chest and turned down the wick of the lamp.

"Oooh," she said in happy surprise when she realized what Jack was talking about. And why his fingers had now reached over to undo the button at the top of her nightgown. "Right. Yes. I definitely think you're right," she said gleefully. "Love-making tonight. Investigate tomorrow."


	18. Chapter 18 - Prelude to Talk

**CHAPTER 18 – PRELUDE TO A TALK**

The deep bark of Rip caused Elizabeth to raise her eyes from her book and look across the otherwise quiet room.

Jack, his arms folded in front of him, was leaning against the school house door. His grey-blue eyes were fixed on her as he smiled.

Elizabeth wondered how long he had been standing there simply staring at her.

She turned her attention back to the textbook in her hands and tried to hide her own smile from her students.

"The last word is ardency", she announced to her students, before spelling the word, and then closing the vocabulary book. "Let's all take an early fifteen-minute recess. Run outside but don't get dirty."

Elizabeth shuddered as she watched one of the students reach through Jack, open the door, and then easily pass through her husband's body. The other children quickly ran through Jack while he looked down at them in surprise and shivered a bit himself.

Elizabeth wasn't sure she'd ever get used to her Mountie's physical state.

"Polly, don't you want to go outside and play?" Elizabeth asked a twelve-year sitting in the front row who had remained firmly seated on the wooden pew.

"No, ma'am. I plan on being studious and learning all these words so I get an A on the test. Also, I don't want to get my dress dirty."

 _For goodness sakes, I need to talk to Jack in private,_ Elizabeth thought with mild annoyance.

"Polly, you are already my number one student. You have gotten an A on every vocabulary test and spelling test this year. You need some fresh air. Go outside. If you don't want to play, you can sit on the steps and breathe deeply."

"But, Mrs. Thornton –"

"No buts, young lady. A special word for you is bucolic. Now out you go for fifteen minutes," Elizabeth said as she ushered the pig-tailed girl down the aisle and outside.

* * *

"What'd you find out?" Elizabeth asked Jack the second she had closed the large wooden door against the students.

"Don't I get a kiss first?"

Elizabeth gave him a quick peck before eagerly looking at him. "Now, what did you find out at the Purdues?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?!" she asked in disbelief. "You've been gone for hours."

Just after the sun had risen, while Elizabeth had sat at their breakfast table and Jack had wistfully inhaled the scent of freshly brewed coffee, Elizabeth had sent him on his mission to spy on Hazel and Jasper in the hopes of discovering why Hazel had been so cryptic over tea and cookies. That was easily three hours ago.

"I watched them have breakfast and then I went to the south side of the mountain to check that area. I haven't done rounds there in a while."

"Jack! You were supposed to investigate the Purdues not the plant life." Elizabeth groused.

"I did. I watched them have breakfast."

"And you didn't find out anything?"

"Nothing. Oh wait, I did find out that Jasper likes his bacon with syrup. Gross if you ask me."

Elizabeth rolled her eyebrows at him and then proceeded to the chalkboard. She picked up a rag and began to wipe away the morning's lesson. "Tell me everything."

"They were having breakfast when I got there. Where they talked about sheep, weather, and going to visit one of their children - Maggie or something. She's got two kids - a boy and a girl. The girl is starting to teeth. The boy likes the new puppy he got," Jack explained in a bored voice as he remembered the morning's conversation. "Which apparently was to make up for him having to share his parents with a baby sister. _We_ weren't even mentioned."

"Then what happened? After breakfast?"

"Jasper went out to the barn, and Hazel cleaned up the dishes. Then she started doing some laundry. That's when I left. I didn't feel the need to watch her clean their clothes. But just so you know, there were no mysterious blood stains," he said with an exaggerated eerie sound to his voice. "No crimes appeared to have been committed. No murder. No stashes of stolen money hidden in the laundry tub. No dead bodies under the dirty socks."

Elizabeth set down the rag which was now covered in chalk dust and leaned against her desk. "Did you see the photograph on the living room table? The one of Hazel and her first husband."

"Yeah. I've seen it before. When Hazel used to invite me in when I would ride by."

"Didn't you think it was odd?"

Jack shrugged. "Not really. I mean, yeah, photography wasn't that readily available fifty years ago, but Hazel once mentioned that her uncle owned a boarding house and a photographer had stayed with them on his way through town. It was the same time of her wedding, and the man took a photograph as a present."

"Not _odd_ that she had a photograph!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She gave Jack a look of exasperation. "Odd that she had a photograph of her _first_ husband!"

"And you call yourself a Mountie," she added in disgust.

* * *

Ten minutes later, a chastised Jack, who realized that Elizabeth was not going to give up on the idea, had agreed to go back to the Purdues house at dinner time, and eavesdrop on their conversation to determine why Hazel had earlier acted so oddly when she had met with Elizabeth.

"You are so headstrong", he railed at Elizabeth as she stood with her hands on her hips and practically insisted he go back to the Purdues or lose all her respect as an investigative Mountie.

"That's one of the things you used to like about me," she retorted hotly, although she couldn't help but start to get that tingly pleased feeling inside while she waited for Jack's response. It was always the same. This dialogue that they had periodically used over the last three years ever since it had first been said in the coal mine where they had taken shelter from a rainstorm.

"Still do," he replied with a smile.

* * *

Elizabeth cracked an egg into the ceramic bowl, watching it plop into the center of the flour and baking powder mixture. She threw the broken shell into the trash and picked up a fork. Her mind barely focused on the task at hand – making something to eat – as she thought about what conversations Jack was currently overhearing at the Purdue farm.

She glanced at the clock on the wall for the third time in two minutes as she stirred the pancake batter.

Five o'clock. Dinner time.

Elizabeth reached into a nearby cup of water and then flicked her hand onto the cast iron pan which was on the stove. The drops of liquid danced around the black surface until they evaporated in the heat. Elizabeth's nerves felt the same. Dancing around crazily.

 _Maybe Jack was right; Hazel was just talking about my pregnancy. About me having a Christmas baby,_ she thought.

 _Nothing more._

 _I always did have too much imagination._

 _She saw me twitching – So what? Easily explainable by tadpoles being down my blouse._

 _She saw me smiling – So what? Easily explainable by the fact that I could have been thinking of my baby or a happy memory of Jack._

 _Maybe she saw me laughing –So what? Easily explainable by . . . . by me being on the verge of insanity._

"They're on their way here."

A startled Elizabeth jumped at the sound of Jack's voice. The bowl of batter sloshed as she swirled around to find him standing two feet away from her.

"What?" she asked in confusion

"They're on their way here," Jack repeated.

"Why? What did you say to them?!" she wailed.

"I didn't say anything," he replied derisively. "They can't hear me. Remember? When I got there, Hazel was wrapping up the dinner and telling Jasper she couldn't stop thinking about you –"

"Me? What about me?!"

"She said it's been days and for goodness sakes, maybe you're not as good at math as I thought you were," Jack said matter-of-factly as he remembered the conversation on which he had eavesdropped while in the Purdue's cozy kitchen. "She said dinner would have to wait. Then she told him to hook up the horses because they were coming over here and bringing you a loaf of bread."

"Bringing me a loaf of bread? What is that supposed to mean? Is that code for something in Mountie talk?"

Jack couldn't suppress his laughter. "It's not code for anything. This Mountie investigation was a bust. There is nothing suspicious going on with the Purdues. She wants to bring you a loaf of bread she made. I saw three loaves on the counter. Smelled good."

"They're coming here just to be nice?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.

"It appears so. I suggest you clean up a bit."

"Why?"

"You spilled pancake batter on your dress."

* * *

Elizabeth needlessly ran her hand over the damp but freshly cleaned spot of her dress and pushed a strand of hair behind one of her ears.

"You look fine. You look gorgeous," Jack told her as she went to answer the knock at the front door.

"Wait-" he said abruptly just before her hand turned the door knob. "Don't forget to be surprised."

"Right", she said with a nod as she remembered that it would look totally suspicious if she knew they had been on the way to bring her bread.

* * *

Elizabeth opened the door and gave the couple what she hoped was a startled look. Although if she was honest with herself, she'd have to admit she was probably a bit too theatrical. Instead of looking like she was simply surprised by two visiting neighbors, her eyes widened as if she had opened the door to both the Easter Bunny and the Prime Minister of Canada coming to propose marriage . Or perhaps go Easter egg hunting and run for political office at the same time.

"Hello, Hazel, Jasper. What a nice surprise. How unexpected. How totally unexpected," she exclaimed. "I had no idea you'd be visiting me this evening. Did I forget that we were meeting?"

"Hello, Elizabeth," Hazel greeted her. "No meeting. I hope we're not intruding. I brought you some freshly baked bread. Would you mind if we came in a few moments? If it's not an imposition?"

"Of course it's not an imposition. Come on in. How sweet of you. And bread! What a nice surprise! I love bread! I eat bread! Bread is delicious."

* * *

Five minutes later, Elizabeth found herself taking the whistling kettle of water off the stove.

"See, it's nothing," Jack told her as he watched her pour the steaming water into three tea cups in which she had already placed bags of Earl Grey.

The large wooden tray holding the tea cups and saucers also held a small jar of raspberry jam, a stick of butter, and a knife to spread both over the bread. So far, the visiting couple had talked about the weather and the favorite types of bread which Hazel liked to make. Not knowing if Elizabeth liked raisin bread, the woman had instead brought plain white.

"You're right -they skipped their dinner and came all the way here for nothing."

Jack raised his eyebrows at her sarcasm.

"You're the only human who has even got a hint of hearing or seeing me," he replied. "They are not here because of me being a ghost. They're just being neighborly."

"Do you really think so?" Elizabeth whispered hopefully as she kept her back in the direction of the couple in case they happened to glance into the kitchen area.

"Yes. She was always very nice when I would stop by to check on them. She probably has some motherly concern for you because she's a mother and you don't have your mother here in town. That mother intuition stuff you were talking about."

"I made that up," Elizabeth admitted. "Except for the stuff about insects and animals. That part was in National Geographic."

"Well it sounded good. And I think it's mother's intuition that she's here."

"What's her intuition telling her," Elizabeth challenged quietly. "Especially considering that she's not _my_ mother."

"That . . . that. . ." Jack fumbled for an answer. "That you were making pancakes for dinner all by your lonesome. And you could use some company and wholesome fresh bread because yours is always flat."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and gave him a look of distain at his criticism.

"It's true," he said with a shrug. "You're too impatient to let the dough rise."

"You're getting a rise out of me," she noted coolly as she dipped the tea bags up and down in the cups and allowed the hot water to become infused the leaves.

Jack chuckled and nodded in the direction of the company. "Go have a nice time," he encouraged.

* * *

"How are you feeling, dear? If you don't mind me asking. I know things must be stressful for you with Jack's accident, your teaching, and being away from your own family," Hazel asked while Jasper occupied himself by slathering red jam on a one-inch thick slice of fresh bread.

From her seat on the couch, Elizabeth handed a cup of tea to Hazel and placed the other on the table in front of Jasper.

"I'm fine. Really. The town people have been so nice and understanding to me."

"I suspect the whole town already cares deeply for the baby you're carrying," Hazel said sincerely.

Elizabeth felt her heart warm at the woman's words. "People really did care so much about Jack."

"It's hard not to care when you meet a fine respectable man," Hazel replied. "Especially one as nice as him."

Elizabeth started to smile appreciatively but it was Hazel's next words that caused Elizabeth to spit out the liquid in her mouth and drop her tea cup to the floor.

"Speaking of Jack, is he here? He's really the one we came to talk to."

 **UP Next: Chapter 19**

 **Dear Readers: Some of you have asked for an update on Jack and Elizabeth from "Out of this World". There's nothing much to write because at this time, they aren't doing anything too interesting as they are simply enjoying parenthood. Months ago, the hospital nursery staff correctly entered the baby's full name "Aaron Daniel Thornton" into Earth's birth database. However, when posting the name into the newsfeed's birth announcements, it was shortened to "A. Thorn". Elizabeth, rightfully upset that her son's name was abbreviated, quickly sent a text message to her family; however, spell-check auto-corrected "A. Thorn" to "Acorn". The nickname has stuck, and Jack and Elizabeth's first-born son is now known as Acorn. Everyone says that the name is perfect because the couple is so nutty. (P.S. From time to time, Jack has also been overheard calling the baby Omelet (after Elizabeth's egg.)**


	19. Chapter 19 - The Beginning of the Talk

**CHAPTER 19 – THE BEGINNING OF THE TALK**

Jack, who had been leaning against the wall, jolted at Hazel's words, and stumbled forward. He caught himself before he fell to the floor in shock.

The color drained from Elizabeth's face and her eyes widened in her own shock. She briefly glanced to Jack before she remembered that he wasn't supposed to be there. Darting her eyes back towards her visitors, she wondered if Hazel, who had just asked if Jack was there, had lost her sanity.

"Hazel, . . . Jack . . . . was in an accident," Elizabeth said hesitantly. "Do you remember hearing about that?"

Elizabeth gave a concerned look to Jasper but the large man purposely ignored her gaze and his wife and instead focused on picking up the shattered pieces of Elizabeth's tea cup which were scattered floor. "I'll just use my napkin to wipe this up," he said in a pleasant helpful voice.

"Yes, I heard about the accident," Hazel said matter-of-factly. She turned her attention to her husband who was kneeling on the ground. "Jasper, don't cut yourself, dear."

Assured that her husband was capable of picking up shards of china, Hazel turned back to Elizabeth. "Everyone in town heard about the accident. It was so upsetting."

"If you heard about the accident, you must have heard about what happened? To Jack?" a still stunned Elizabeth questioned as she wondered if Hazel had some form of memory loss.

"It was so sad. I cried quite a few tears when I heard about it. "

 _Then why the heck did she say she wanted to talk to Jack? Did I mishear? I must have misheard._

"I must have misheard you," Elizabeth stated. "I'm sorry that I spilt my tea."

"Don't worry about the tea. Jasper will clean it all up. And he'll get you a fresh cup," Hazel said dismissively before looking compassionately at Elizabeth. "Jasper and I watched the funeral from the hilltop. We didn't want to intrude and it was so . . .sad."

"That's why I was intrigued when the talk about you started," the woman then added.

"The talk about me?"

"The odd behavior. The smiles when you should have been sad."

"I'm doing the best I can," Elizabeth explained. "I'm trying to be positive and move forward."

"I'm sure you are, but one doesn't get over a love like you two had that quickly."

""It hasn't been easy," Elizabeth agreed. "Despite how it may look."

"No, I don't expect it has been," the other woman said sympathetically. "That's why I'm so happy for you now."

"Happy for me?" Elizabeth looked totally perplexed. _Because of the baby?_

"With this turn of events", Hazel replied with a knowing smile. "Since after the funeral."

 _She must be talking about the baby._

"And I'm not just talking about you two expecting a baby," Hazel added which put an end to Elizabeth's hope that the woman sitting across from her wasn't slightly senile.

"Maybe she's a little off her rocker," Jack suggested as he gave Elizabeth's shoulder a tender squeeze. Elizabeth placed her hand on top of his. Not caring if it looked odd to her guests that her hand was seemingly on her own shoulder. "I never noticed it before but I didn't know her that well," Jack added.

The conversation was leaving Elizabeth terribly unsettled. She took a deep breath to calm her unsteady voice before speaking.

"Since you saw the funeral, you know how terribly painful it was for me."

"I'm sure it was. _Was_ being the appropriate word. Although, I'm sure it's still hard, it's gotten remarkably less painful in just a short time."

Elizabeth had no idea where the woman was going with this conversation. She spoke in a friendly, almost jovial voice, but her words made it seem as if Elizabeth had too easily gotten over her loss of Jack or that perhaps she hadn't lost Jack at all.

"I like to believe that Jack is looking out for me and our child," Elizabeth finally said in defense of her attitude over the recent days.

"I was hoping you'd say that. That he's looking out for you."

"So. . . . you know he's . . . gone?" Elizabeth asked delicately.

"Gone?"

"Yes, gone. You do realize that you can't talk to Jack because he's gone?"

"What do you think?" The woman asked with a serious expression on her face.

Elizabeth lost her composure at the woman's question.

"What do _I_ think? What do you mean what do _I THINK_?!"

Hazel Pursue set down her tea cup and gave a little sigh. This was not going to be as easy as she had hoped. She wondered why young people could be so difficult at times.

"Maybe we should just go home now, sweetie," Jasper addressed his wife. "I think we've taken up enough of Mrs. Thornton's time and we don't want to upset her."

"It's – It's-" Elizabeth stuttered. Elizabeth was at a loss what to say to this woman who acknowledged Jack's accident and funeral but was still behaving as if Elizabeth should be happy.

Jack wasn't being much help. He had moved away from her and was now staring at Hazel and muttering, "Do you think she can hear me? Sense my presence?" Which obviously Hazel couldn't because she had just moved her hand through Jack's leg to put her teacup on the table.

Hazel turned to her own husband. "How could I possibly be upsetting _HER_? I am here to talk _TO JACK_."

"Mrs. Purdue," Elizabeth began again. "Jack was in an accident. A terrible accident that came as surprise to all of us. It was terribly unfair and –"

Elizabeth's voice trailed off. She didn't even want to talk about what had happened because of some stupid forces of nature.

"Elizabeth, would you indulge me for a moment?" Hazel asked.

"I'm just going to throw these shards of china in your trash bin," Jasper said as he helpfully moved towards the kitchen. "Hazel, don't press too hard."

"I am not pressing too hard!" Hazel said indignantly to her husband. "Too much time has passed already. This is silly. I'm just trying to be helpful."

"Maybe you're not being helpful. Maybe you're upsetting her."

"How could _I_ be upsetting her?! She's pregnant and her husband was killed in a landmine."

"A landslide. Not a land mine," Jasper corrected her.

"Whatever," Hazel rolled her eyes. "What could I possibly say that would be upsetting? Her life already sucks."

Elizabeth looked back and forth between the Purdue couple and then looked helplessly to Jack, who shook his head indicating that he had no idea what was going on.

"You know I don't like that word. It makes no sense at all," Jasper chided his wife, who merely gave a shrug.

"The young people are starting to use it. It means her life is a mess. A big disappointment."

"I wouldn't say that –" an offended Elizabeth began but she was talked over _._

"You need to go slower," Jasper kindly instructed his wife. "This is a shock to her."

Hazel turned back to Elizabeth, "If you don't mind listening, I would like to tell you a story. A true story. Actually, it's the story of me and my marriage. And I think that once you hear it, you'll know that you're not going crazy and that you'll be happy with Jack again."

"You mean in . . . the afterworld? . . . . In heaven one day, " Elizabeth said hesitantly.

"Oh goodness, no my dear. I mean much sooner than that."

 **Up next: Chapter 20 – Hazel's story**


	20. Chapter 20 - Hazel and Stan

**Dear Readers, I thank each and every one of you for your reviews. They truly motivate me to write the next chapters, and they sometimes even give me ideas**. 😊

 **CHAPTER 20 HAZEL AND STAN**

I'd always known Stan. As long as I can remember," Hazel began to speak while Jasper busied himself making more tea, and preparing sandwiches with some cheese and ham slices he had found in the kitchen.

On the couch, Elizabeth sat motionless, except for tightly clutching Jack's hand.

To the unaware observer, it would look like her hand was simply lying in an odd position on the couch and twitching every so often. But all Elizabeth cared about was that Jack was sitting next to her, holding her hand tightly in his and allowing her to squeeze his for comfort as Hazel began to talk.

Elizabeth had no idea why Hazel would tell a story about her marriage, or what it would have to do with Jack, but she felt unable to stop herself from wanting to hear the woman's words.

"At first, Stan was just another boy that lived a few farms over," Hazel explained to Elizabeth. "He was someone I saw occasionally when the farmers and families got together for events. When we were seven and eight, we would sometimes go fishing together. He didn't seem to care that I was a girl, and I didn't care that he was a boy. We liked to fish and climb trees and spend free time together when we saw each other outside of school. There was never any awkwardness between us. We just seemed to get along as if we were meant to.

When I was nine, a boy in town was teasing me about my freckles. Stan told him to knock it off. The boy – a nasty fella who should have had his mouth washed out with soap on more than one occasion - refused to stop teasing me so Stan, who wasn't a big boy, very aggressively and bravely let the boy know that he had better apologize to me right away. The other boy was bigger than Stan and Stan ended up with a black eye.

But the nasty fella ended up with a black eye, a split lip, and a bloody nose.

And he apologized to me just like Stan had told him to. After that Stan and I became closer.

By the time we were thirteen, we were the best of friends.

When we were fourteen, another girl in school asked him to the Sadie's Hawkins dance and he accepted. That was the first time I was jealous," Hazel admitted. It seemed to Elizabeth that the woman was remembering the first time her heart had ever felt a twinge of pain.

"I ended up asking another a boy who was a year older than me to the dance. I barely cared about the boy but I didn't want to go alone and be a silly wallflower. Stan later told me that he was jealous seeing me dancing in another boy's arms. There we were at a county dance, two fourteen-year-old friends, each discovering we had romantic feelings for each other.

By fifteen we had our first kiss."

Elizabeth still didn't understand the reason for the story, but she found herself unable to break away.

"At sixteen, there was a drought that summer, so Stan's family sent him to Montreal to work in a factory to earn enough money to keep the farm from going into foreclosure. I spend the whole summer writing him letters and missing him. I still have those letters.

At seventeen, he asked my father for permission to marry me. He didn't even have to ask me – we already knew we were meant for each other - that we would be married. Forever. With my parents' permission, and a small piece of land from one of his uncles, Stan began building our house. It was small -just two rooms- a bedroom and a main room.

When the house was completed, we were married. I had just turned eighteen.

We were so happy. We had been so happy together for years, but now we were married. It was wonderful. Stan helped at his family's farm when he could, but he now had a job at a logging operation and I was earning extra money by canning and raising chickens. Selling eggs and canned vegetables and jams to the general store in the nearest town. We had our whole lives in front of us. Stan said he we were going to have a houseful of children and he'd have to add addition after addition to the house. He loved to say that. He'd smile and kiss me and get frisky. Telling me about the children we were going to have. We loved each other very much."

"Still do," Elizabeth thought she heard Jasper say quietly. She looked over at him and saw how he was looking at Hazel. There was no doubt that he loved her.

Elizabeth gave Jack's hand another tender squeeze. Hoping Jack understood she was telling him she loved him. More than anything.

Elizabeth may not understand why Hazel was telling her this story, and why Jasper was sitting patiently while his wife extolled the virtues of her first husband, but Elizabeth knew about love. She knew that what she and Jack had was true love.

Hazel took a sip of tea and then began speaking again.

"One week, Stan was at a camp about five miles away. I didn't expect him home that night. During a good season, the loggers would spent five days camping and then come home for a day or two for fresh clothes and home cooked meals, and then move to the next site. They'd cut the logs and float them downstream ten or fifteen miles, sometimes twenty miles to another spot where more workers would saw them in the mill.

I had fallen asleep in front of the fireplace sewing a pair of Stan's trousers. He only had three pairs. Two work pairs and a fancy pair – his Sunday best. I wanted the torn pair repaired when he came home the next day but I was tired. And so, I fell asleep sitting in my rocking chair with my needle and thread still in my hands. After all these years, I still remember that.

I was awoken by his voice. His voice that I had known almost my whole life.

When I opened my eyes, Stan was standing a few feet away from me. I hadn't even heard him come inside. Which was odd because I had put the bolt across the door, but I didn't remember it at the time. The light from the fire seemed to bounce off of him. Making him glow. More than glow. He seemed to almost shimmer."

When Elizabeth heard Hazel use the word _shimmer_ , her heart skipped a bit and she squeezed Jack's hand even tighter. Clutching it until her fingers were white.

"I started to get up to greet him. To jump into his arms but he stopped me. He told me to just please sit there for a bit, and so I did. I had no idea why, but he didn't want me to get too close. I thought maybe he had picked up a cold or fever from someone and wanted to keep me safe. The loggers were living in such close conditions, it wasn't unusual for one to get sick and then sicken the rest.

Stan just kept saying how confused he was. He looked so upset and worried, I just wanted to wrap my arms around him. I can still picture him now. He looked like the photograph in my parlor. Young and handsome. But his eyes were pained. Sad. Baffled. Like he couldn't make sense of what had happened that night.

I offered to make him some dinner, but he said no, he needed to talk to me. He told me about how sorry he was. He thought something horrible had happened but he wasn't sure.

I remember telling him to go get undressed and into bed. That'd I'd make him some tea and a poultice if he was feeling bad. But he said his mind was all foggy. He remembered being in the water and slipping on a log.

When I asked him if he was hurt, he shook his head at first. But then he nodded slowly and said 'I think so. I think I was hurt real bad.'

I was just happy to have him home. I went to turn up the wick on the lamp so I could see him better but he said no. He didn't think that was a good idea. He asked me to keep the room dim. Lit only by the fireplace.

I tried to put aside my worry about the way he was acting. Thinking maybe he had a gash or cut on his face, or a black and blue eye which he didn't want me to see until I had time to come to grips with that fact that he was slightly injured.

While he paced back and forth in our small front room, raking his hand threw his blond curls and muttering that he thought something terrible had happened. I started to make him some dinner. Just scrambled eggs. But they would be warm and filling. I loved cooking for him.

I told him not to worry about anything. That he was home now and everything would be fine. But he kept saying that he didn't feel right. That something was off and it worried him. It scared him. It made him fearful that I would be hurt by something. He said he couldn't make sense of it.

The knock on the door surprised me. It was only about eight o'clock at night but I couldn't imagine why there would be visitors at that time.

When I opened the door, there were four men standing in front of me. Two of Stan's friends from the logging company. My father.

And the town's preacher."

Jasper set a fresh cup of tea and a plate with a sandwich in front of Elizabeth but she ignored them. Instead, she felt her eyes welling up with tears even though the men had come to Hazel's door fifty years ago. A touch of sadness crossed over Jasper's face as if he was reliving the moment.

Elizabeth's heart sank as she knew what Hazel would say next.

"They told me that Stan had died," Hazel said quietly. "That he had slipped while trying to break up a log jam in the river. He went under the logs.

I shook my head and explained that they were wrong, that Stan was in the house. That he had come home. I even invited them inside to see him and stay for eggs.

I kept telling them that they were mistaken. He must have swum to shore downstream and made his way home without them knowing. It was really that simple, I explained. He had floated so far from camp that it had been quicker for him just to come home.

The men looked at me with eyes filled with pity. Thinking that I was delirious. In shock. In denial.

When they told me again, I was adamant that they were wrong. I even laughed at them. Called them silly men. Asked them if they had been drinking.

Stan's friends couldn't keep saying the words so they stared down at their feet and shuffled the dirt.

My father tried to put his arm around me but I backed away. I yelled at them for teasing me. I told them it was cruel joke and they should be ashamed of themselves. I accused them of conning the preacher to go along with their prank.

But then I saw it.

I was on the top step and the men were below the porch so I could see over their shoulders.

I saw the . . . shape. Covered in a blanket.

I hurriedly called over my shoulder for Stan to come to the door. But he didn't. My voice cracked and I called him again.

My father tried to calm me down, but I grabbed a lantern and turned up the wick. I swirled around with my arm outstretched to hold the light up high and illuminate the room. I called for Stan again. More frantically this time.

And then I saw him standing by our wedding photo. Staring at it. He looked up at me. With such a sorrowful expression that I wanted to cry.

There was my Stan. Standing in our house.

I screamed and fainted when I realized that I could actually see through him."

 ** _Up NEXT: Chapter 21_**


	21. Chapter 21 - I DON'T CARE

**Chapter 21 – I DON'T CARE**

No one said anything.

The room was quiet except for the ticking of the small clock on the desk.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick.

To Elizabeth's ears, the sound seemed as loud as the largest bell in the clocktower at Canada's parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario.

Jack was quiet for two reasons. One, he knew that speaking to Elizabeth when she was surrounded by people could be confusing and make her nervous. Two, he was stunned by what Hazel had said.

Elizabeth had likewise been rendered speechless by Hazel's declaration that she had seen the transparent ghost of her own husband on the night of his death fifty years ago.

No one had said anything since Hazel's statement.

The four individuals simply sat in silence.

Hazel stared at Elizabeth. Wondering if the young Thornton couple had loved each other as much as she hoped.

Jack stared at Jasper. Wondering who he really was.

Jasper stared at Elizabeth. Wondering if she could handle what his wife had said.

No one stared at Jack. Only Elizabeth could see him and she was staring at Hazel. Wondering why she had come to her home this evening.

* * *

It was finally Hazel who spoke again.

"My husband Stan never said goodbye to me," she offered. "He would always say, 'I'll see you soon for another kiss.' Even when he went away that one summer to work in a factory, he didn't say goodbye. I asked him once why he didn't say it, and his answer was so matter-of-fact, it was as if it was an obvious truth to him. He wasn't even trying to be romantic; he was just stating what he considered to be an undeniable fact. He said that he never said goodbye to me because it seemed too final a thing to say, and it wasn't even correct. He said that there would always be another kiss for us."

Elizabeth let the words sink in. She couldn't help but think of her own love with Jack.

Before she could respond, Hazel began talking again.

"On our wedding night, I told Stan that if I could live a thousand lives, I wouldn't want to if he wasn't with me. I promised to be his forever. I understand that you and your Jack made similar vows to each other. You apparently told some of your friends that on the night of your engagement, you had told Jack that you would wait an eternity for him. And in your vows, you said it again, and that you were giving him your soul. He vowed to be yours forever."

"Oh, yes, I did some research into you," Hazel explained when Elizabeth gave her a look of scrutiny.

"Would you like some more tea?" Elizabeth said abruptly. "If not, I hope you don't mind if I ask you to take your leave now. I'm afraid that I'm rather tired."

Elizabeth stood up without waiting for an answer.

"What are you doing?!" a startled Jack exclaimed but Elizabeth ignored him.

The Purdues looked equally startled by Elizabeth's response to their story.

"Excuse me?" Hazel inquired.

"I said I'm tired. I had a long day of teaching and I really should finish grading papers. Please let yourselves out while I clean up," she said dismissively.

"Don't you want to hear the rest?" Hazel asked in bewilderment.

"No. No, I don't," Elizabeth said tersely. "I most definitely do not."

* * *

"YES, WE DO!" Jack protested as he followed Elizabeth who had picked up the dishes and was carrying them to the kitchen area. "What has gotten into you?!"

Elizabeth, her eyes devoid of any warmth, kept her mouth set in a hard line.

The fine china saucers clinked as she dropped them too harshly on the counter; she didn't care that she had probably chipped one or two of them.

She turned back to the Purdues who had stood up and were now standing awkwardly in the center of the main room.

"Don't let them leave!" Jack demanded.

"Thank you for bringing the bread and entertaining me with your little piece of fiction. You're quite the storyteller," Elizabeth said coldly.

"Fiction?"

"I should have you edit my stories. Maybe I would get published then," Elizabeth sarcastically told the other woman.

"Elizabeth –"

"Enough!"

Elizabeth silenced Hazel with the one word.

"Mrs. Thornton, we meant no harm," Jasper Purdue explained. He put his arm around his wife's shoulders. For a man who was six foot three inches in height, he was surprisingly gentle.

"You can leave now. Have a nice evening."

"But -"

"I don't care what you intended by coming here tonight, but please leave." Elizabeth cut off Mr. Purdue with her firmness.

"I care! I care!" Jack yelled.

Elizabeth determinedly moved to the door and put her hand on the knob. She fully intended to have the now unwanted guests out of her home in mere seconds, but Jack reached out his own hand and kept her from opening the door.

"Don't let them leave! Are you crazy?! We need to know what happened!"

Elizabeth took a deep sigh to calm her emotions and contemplated what to do.

Her curious mind was telling her to let the couple continue their story.

Her heart was telling her to shove them outside and lock the door behind them.

* * *

"Please, Elizabeth. We need to know what happened. I don't know why you're upset but I'm asking you to please let us hear what happened next," Jack desperately told her. "Please."

Elizabeth turned to the couple still standing uncomfortably by her couch. "Please have a seat. I just have to go upstairs for a moment," she announced brusquely.

Without waiting for a response or even looking at Jack, Elizabeth hurried across the room. Her long dress made a swishing sound as she ignored her guests and quickly climbed the stairs.

* * *

Elizabeth closed the bedroom door behind them, and whirled around to stare at Jack.

"She's playing with me! She's mocking me!"

"What are you talking about?" a confused Jack asked.

Elizabeth paced across the bedroom floor. "She knows how devastated I was after your accident. She knows I would do anything to have you back. So she and Jasper made up this fantasy of their life!"

Jack gave her an incredulous look. "Why would they do that?"

"I don't care why! I will not allow them in this house to ridicule us! To ridicule our love!"

"That's not what they're doing!"

"Yes they are. You can't see it, but they are having fun at my expense. Making up that story about Hazel's love while knowing how desperately I missed you after your accident."

Jack disagreeably crinkled his brow at her. "I think you're wrong. How would she know about the shimmering? And being transparent? And my mind being foggy after the accident – just like she said Stan's was?"

Elizabeth fumbled for answers. "I don't know. I don't know. But it can't be. She can't have gone through the same thing as us."

"You know what she's saying! She's saying that Stan and Jasper are one and the same! That Stan found a way to come back to her."

"It can't be!"

"Why not? WHY NOT?"

Elizabeth's eyes welled up with tears as her resolve to be strong broke.

"Because – because she's giving me hope," she sobbed. "With her story, she's giving me hope that we can be together again. And what if it's not true? What if she's just some crazy woman with a vivid imagination and her husband is going along with it?"

"Why would they do that?!"

"I don't know!" Elizabeth wailed. "Maybe they're cruel!"

"You know they aren't. They are a nice couple."

"But it can't be true. Because if they found a way to be together, it should be possible for us. And what if we can't do it? What if we can't do it?" Elizabeth sobbed as she thought of going through another heartbreak. "What if we believe them and we hope and then we can't do it?"

Jack wrapped his arms around Elizabeth. "We have to find out."

Elizabeth pulled back slightly. "Do the math. She told me to do the math. I figured it out. She married Stan when she was eighteen, has been married to Jasper for fifty years, and she's sixty-eight years old. She was telling me that she married Jasper at eighteen. That Stan and Jasper are the same person."

Elizabeth wiped her eyes and spoke again. "Do you think it's possible?"

Jack nodded. "I do."

"But her story's not the same as ours. She saw him right away. It took us weeks before I could hear and see you," Elizabeth argued.

Jack paused for only a second before the answer came to him.

"She was _asleep_ when she first heard him," he said eagerly. "It's easier when it's casual and not forced. We learned that. And he got to her _before_ she knew he had died. With us, I was in such a confused fog and I found myself at the hospital looking at the other Mounties and wondering what had happened. You were so far away. By the time I figured out how to get to you, you had already been told that I was gone. I tried to talk to you. I begged you to hear me. I screamed at you. But you were so upset. Your grief was so strong, it kept you from knowing I was there. All you knew was sadness. It blocked out me. It wasn't until we relaxed and were past the initial pain and confusion that you could see and hear me. They didn't have that. Because she hadn't been told he was dead when he appeared to her."

"You think she's telling the truth?"

Jack nodded. "I believe Stan found a way to get back to her."

"I do too," Elizabeth admitted.

"We just have to find out how," Jack said urgently as he took ahold of Elizabeth's hand and they hurriedly moved towards the door. "So I can get back to you the same way!"

 **UP NEXT: CHAPTER 22**

 **Dear Readers: I'm getting you the chapters as fast as I can. :) Thanks for your following.**


	22. Chapter 22 - How Easy

**CHAPTER 22 – HOW EASILY IT HAPPENED**

Elizabeth would have walked slower and a bit more ladylike but an eager Jack, who had moved his hand to her back, was propelling her forward. Before leaving the bedroom, the couple had paused, and tried to control their excitement, but Elizabeth's nerves were all jumbled.

She still wasn't willing to admit one-hundred percent that Hazel and Stan could help them, and she wasn't sure how much she should tell them about her own situation without sounding like she was mentally unstable. But Jack was so eager that he didn't want to wait any longer.

And so, Elizabeth – torn between sensibilities, excitement about her future, the likely impossibility of everything, and living on hope – moved downstairs.

"Thank you for waiting. Please forgive me for being rude. I would like to hear the rest of your story if you're still willing to tell me."

Elizabeth, now in the row-house's main room, swiped her hand across her wet eyes, smiled, and motioned for the couple to sit down on the couch.

 _Remain Calm. Get them to do the talking. Reveal as little as possible until I am sure about them,_ she silently told herself.

 _Remain calm?! They may be about to tell me how to get Jack back!_

 _I can do this. I just won't let on about anything unusual happening._

 _I'm just an ordinary widow sitting down with a friendly couple to hear a pleasant story about their love. That's all. There's nothing unusual about that._

"Are you sure you want us to continue?" Hazel asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I am. I'd like to know more. Please."

The Purdue couple glanced at one another, apparently conveying to each other that they would stay, and then sat down on the long couch.

An anxious Elizabeth looked at the soft chair across from them – the only other convenient place to sit -and frowned slightly at its occupant.

 _How did he get there before me?_ she wondered. _Now I can't sit there. I can't tell him to move without looking like an idiot talking to nothingness. I'm supposed to be acting normal._

"Aren't you going to sit down?" Hazel asked curiously.

"I just feel like standing," Elizabeth quickly lied.

"Wouldn't it be more comfortable if you were sitting?"

"No. I like to stand."

"You're pregnant and this is a somewhat emotional story. I'd feel better if you sat," Hazel offered.

"I like to stand," Elizabeth lied again and wracked her brain for a reason to justify her lack of sitting as she tried to remain calm and ordinary.

"It's good for the pregnancy. Keeps the baby upright," she added knowingly.

Hazel's face scrunched up and she gave Elizabeth an odd look.

"Upright?"

"Like a piano." Elizabeth said chirpily.

"A piano?"

Jasper gave her a peculiar look as he wondered why a baby should be like a large musical instrument.

"Or an upstanding citizen!" Elizabeth quickly added as she thought of a better example.

"Standing upright is supposed to keep you healthy and make your baby an upstanding citizen. It's just an old wives' tale but I figured it can't hurt," Elizabeth, feeling ditzy, told them. "I'm always looking for ways to make this pregnancy as productive as possible. I might as well start the social studies teaching early."

"Elizabeth, you're doing that thing again," Jack warned. "Where you say stupid things when you get nervous or try to lie. You're not a liar."

"It's that good citizen in you", he added with a chuckle.

Elizabeth sighed. _My feet do hurt. If he wasn't in the chair, I could sit down and not stand here making up stupid lies._

"Is Jack here?" Hazel asked tenderly.

Elizabeth wasn't sure she wanted to readily admit that she was married to a ghost with whom she talked and slept and well . . .did other things, but it seemed that the Purdues had already figured it out.

Still, instead of saying it aloud, Elizabeth simply nodded. It seemed less dramatic and odd than saying the words "My ghost husband is standing a foot away from you."

"Is that why you aren't sitting down? Because he's in that chair?" Jasper asked as he looked at the overstuffed piece of furniture.

"No. No," Elizabeth answered simply.

An unconvinced Hazel turned in the direction of the chair and began speaking. "Jack, you can't know how happy we are that you're here. You were always so nice and polite and caring. You did so much for this town."

"I agree," Jasper said as he too now stared at the chair. "I wish we had told you before how grateful we were for the work you did in keeping this town safe. Just think about all you handled. The unscrupulous Pinkerton man who was here years ago. The Tolliver gang. The corrupt Mountie official."

"Don't forget the flood when you helped the trapped miners." Hazel got up from the couch and crouched in front of the chair, speaking in the direction of the back-support cushion. "And you saved the little girl from the church fire."

"You're a hero," Jasper agreed.

"A real hero," Hazel echoed. "And you deserve so much better."

 _Okay, enough of this,_ Elizabeth thought with a disgusted face as the Purdues looked at the chair with so much respect and gratitude. _I might as well tell them the truth no matter how stupid it sounds._

"Jack's not in the chair," she announced. "That's Rip."

"Rip?"

"His dog."

"His DOG? The fat old basset hound? His _dog_ in the chair? Why is his dog a ghost?!""

"Jack told him to look after me and the dog died," Elizabeth explained. "We think he felt bad about dying before Jack came back from the Northern Territories."

"So he stayed around to keep an eye on you?" a still stunned Hazel inquired.

Elizbeth shrugged in response. "He always obeyed Jack. And Jack told him to never forget how important I was to him, so Rip stayed around. We think he also stayed to say goodbye to Jack. And now just likes being with Jack."

Jasper looked amazed. "We'll, I'll be. Ain't that something."

"Somehow he's now able to lift his fat body off the floor and get up onto the bed and chair," Elizabeth noted disagreeably.

Jack reached over and pushed on the dog's hefty body. "Down," he ordered.

Rip gave a little huff and jumped onto the floor.

Hazel shook her head a bit, as if to think clearly, and addressed Elizabeth with a bewildered look.

"So, is _Jack_ here? _SOMEWHERE_ in the room?"

"Tell them," Jack said.

Elizabeth sat in the seat now left vacant by Rip, and nodded. "He's standing next to me," she said as she motioned to her left.

* * *

Five minutes later, Elizabeth, now knowing that Jasper was indeed Stan, felt like Hazel was a kindred spirit.

" . . . . the stares I got. And then the deeply concerned looks," the older woman said.

"No one believed me. I only told my sister and our parents. My sister thought it was tragically romantic – young widow loses mind over death of husband. Stan's mother and father couldn't deal with the idea of Stan not being in heaven, so I didn't mention it to them again. My parents forbid me to talk about it and tried to give me tranquilizers because they thought I was overwrought. They told everyone that I had been dreaming when the men had come to the door and given me the news. That I was half asleep and confused and then overcome with grief."

" . . . I would lock myself in my bedroom and talk quietly to Stan. Refusing to come out and have to deal with well-intentioned people who didn't believe me. I skipped meals because it meant dealing with them. I stopped sleeping at night because I was worried Stan wouldn't be there in the morning. I lost ten pounds."

" . . . After two weeks, my family had almost convinced me that I was mentally ill. They bought me a train ticket to a hospital in St. Claire."

Elizabeth looked stricken at the idea. She knew that if she told anyone besides the Purdues about Jack, she would likely end up with Carson, Abigail, Rosemary, and the rest of the town writing to her parents and asking them to hire the country's best psychiatrist.

"How did you know it was real? That Stan was with you?" Elizabeth asked. "Because initially I doubted myself a bit. Just a bit. It all seemed to incredible."

"First, it was the cat," Stan answered for his wife.

"The cat?" Jack asked.

"The cat?" Elizabeth repeated on behalf of Jack.

"Hazel's family had a cat that didn't really care for me. I had stepped on its tail when it was a kitten, and it never seemed to forgive me. It got totally spooked by my ghostly presence. Whenever I appeared in a room, she'd screech and run out."

"Animals can see me", Jack nodded eagerly and needlessly reminded Elizabeth.

"We quickly figured out that the cat could see Stan. But my family almost had me convinced that I couldn't stake my sanity on a cat, when the second thing happened."

"The second thing?"

"My older brother and his family lived nearby," Hazel explained "They wanted to see me before I left town – for the hospital – my parents told them that I was melancholy. They came to visit and to take me to the station."

"Their daughter, Shelly, wasn't quite two years old. I used to give her piggy-back rides. Run around like a horse and making neighing noises while she laughed," Stan told them and then looked to his wife for her to continue the story.

"We were standing in the parlor when Shelly toddled in. She took one look at Stan, put up her arms, and said 'up horsey'. No one else noticed - they were too busy packing me sandwiches and trying to make sure I had money for the trip. But I noticed and my heart practically leapt out of me. My niece just stood there looking up at him and saying 'horsey neigh neigh please.' I knew that I wasn't crazy. The cat could see Stan. A little girl could see Stan. _I could_ see Stan. He was real."

* * *

"But how did Stan become fully alive again?" Elizabeth asked as she poured another glass of apple cider and handed it to Jasper, or rather to Stan.

She set down the pitcher and opened up the tin of cookies which her parents had sent from Hamilton. She and her guests had finished the sandwiches and tea fifteen minutes ago and Elizabeth was in no hurry for the night's conversation to end.

The Purdues had explained that Hazel had refused to take the train, and instead told her family that she realized that she had been deceiving herself in thinking that Stan was still with her. She had told them that the thought of leaving town and being hospitalized had broken her out of her deep grief and made her come to her senses.

With her parents now relieved that she wasn't having a mental breakdown, they allowed Hazel to return to her home alone.

Without their families interfering, Hazel and Stan had time to enjoy being together and began taking long walks in the woods and fields – always away from any potential observers.

"Yeah, how did Stan become fully alive again?" Jack repeated insistently although no one but Elizabeth could hear his question.

"Please tell us," Elizabeth urged.

"It was surprisingly easy when the opportunity arose," said Jasper – who was actually Stan – although Elizabeth was still trying to wrap her head around that fact. She kept fumbling over which name to call him.

"What opportunity?!" Jack questioned. He found it frustrating that he could hear everything but could only participate in the conversation by having Elizabeth repeat his questions.

"What opportunity?" Elizabeth repeated.

"Stan and I had gone for a long walk. We were so busy talking that we lost track of where we were walking or the weather. A thunderstorm came suddenly when we happened to be in an open field. When we saw the lightning, we began running but we were acres from a barn. Then we saw Jasper."

"He was trying to bring in some calves that had wandered too far from his place. Cattle are idiots when it comes to storms," Stan spoke up.

"So there really was a man named Jasper that you knew?" Elizabeth asked.

"We didn't know him well," Hazel replied. "He was a few years older than us and lived by himself. Kind of a rude man. Or maybe more quiet and stoic than intentionally rude. Anyway, a crack of lightning struck about a hundred yards from me, and Stan threw me down - he was always protecting me. There was a slight gully, and he had me lay there. And then the lightning struck again."

"Only this time, it hit Jasper," Stan said somberly.

"We heard the crack and the almost immediate thunder, and saw him lying motionless. Spread out on the grass. Stan made me stay in the gully but he ran to see if he could help."

"When I got to him, I knew it was too late to save him. Even if I could have touched him without my hand passing through. And then I saw him –"

"I couldn't see what Stan saw. I just saw Jasper's body in the grass," Hazel interrupted.

"I saw Jasper leave his body. He stood up in front of me. Much taller than me so I had to look up at him," Stan recounted. "He gave me a smile, glanced at his body, and said 'it's yours if you want it. Better be quick I expect. I don't need it. I'm going up there.' Then he pointed upwards to the sky and disappeared."

A stunned Elizabeth and Jack didn't move as they stared at Stan.

"I was still about fifty yards away in the gully," Hazel said. "I had lifted up my head to watch but could only see Stan standing over the body. And then I saw Stan actually lay down in the body. It was one of the most bizarre things I had ever seen. And bear in mind that I had been seeing my ghost husband for weeks. I left the gully and ran towards him. I had no idea why he was doing what he was doing. I was yelling the whole way in the storm as I crossed the field."

"She can be a bit emotional," Stan said with a smile.

"I _had_ just seen my husband – a ghost of a husband who I loved dearly - enter another man's body," Hazel swiftly reminded Stan.

Elizabeth looked back and forth between the couple. Her heart was pounding and she felt her nerves were so tightly strung that she might pass out.

"You saw Stan go into Jasper? Stan took over his body?" she gasped.

"Exactly," Hazel announced gleefully. She patted her hands on her lap as if the story was over and had ended very happily.

"Just like that? That's how easy it was?" Jack said in awe.

"That's how easy it was?" Elizabeth repeated.

"Well, it's not so easy finding a person that has only been dead for two seconds, but yes, substituting for him was that easy," Stan replied.

"We have five months," Elizabeth exclaimed as she turned to look at Jack. She grinned in awe at the realization. "Five months until the baby is born! You can find a body -"

"And someone willing to give it to you as they leave it," Stan interrupted.

"You can do it by my due date. If you look really hard," she told him confidently as she put any morbid thoughts of the conversation from her mind.

"I can do it!" Jack eagerly told her.

"You'll be with me for my pregnancy! Maybe not the whole pregnancy but I'm sure you'll be here by December!"

"Um," Hazel interrupted.

"What? You said it's simple" Elizabeth noted when she saw Hazel's concerned look.

"I think you should wait until after the baby comes to try to find a body."

"I agree," Stan said with a nod. "Most definitely don't try to come back fully until after the baby is born."

"But why? I want Jack here when I give birth."

"I want to be here," Jack agreed. "To hold my son or daughter. To support Elizabeth."

"I know you do, sweetie. And don't forget, they can't hear you," Elizabeth reminded Jack who had taken to speaking directly to the Purdues.

"It's just a better idea to wait until after the baby is born," Stan repeated.

"But why?" Elizabeth pestered.

"Oh my goodness," she said in horror. before anyone could answer her. "Do you think I may die in childbirth?! Is that why he should wait?"

Jack looked stricken at the idea.

Hazel involuntarily jerked back slightly at the suggestion. "For heaven's sakes, don't be silly. It's nothing as dramatic as that."

"Then what is it?" Jack asked from his perch on the chair's armrest.

"Then what is it?" Elizabeth asked.

The older couple exchanged worried glances. "Tell her, Stan," Hazel ordered.

"You tell her," her husband replied. "You know this part better than me."

Hazel hesitated. "Okay, now don't get upset. It's not as bad as it may sound. It just takes a while to get used to it. And you'll have to work hard at it to get things back to where they were."

"At what? What's not as bad as it sounds? What takes a while to get used to? What do I have to work at to get back to where it was?"

Realizing she couldn't avoid answering, Hazel blurted out the answer.

"When Jack first comes back into a new body, he'll have no memory of you as his wife. Or maybe of you at all."

The glass slipped from Elizabeth's hand and crashed to the floor sending cider and shards of crystal around the room.

 **Dear Readers, one of you mentioned getting notifications of when I post a chapter. If you want automatic emails whenever I post to one of my stories, make a free account with fanfiction by signing up with your email address. Then simply click "Follow" on the stories of mine which you like. You'll receive an email with a link to my chapter within five seconds of when I post it!** **😊 It's that simple. Also, if you have an account, I can send you private messages in response to your questions or reviews.**


	23. Chapter 23 - Memories

**CHAPTER 23 - MEMORIES**

"Stop hyperventilating", Hazel told Elizabeth. "It's really not so bad."

"NOT SO BAD?" Elizabeth and Jack both yelled at the same time. "NO MEMORY?!"

"Calm down, please", the older woman encouraged Elizabeth. "Please sit back down and I'll explain."

Elizabeth and Jack had been pacing the room for the last two minutes, Stan was cleaning up the broken crystal and wondering how many things would get broken that evening (so far, he counted one tea cup, two chipped saucers, and one glass), and Rip was following Jack around and getting under foot.

"His memory will come back. It just takes time. That's why we suggest you wait until after the baby is born. You want him here for that – even if it's just in his present form. It would be horrible if he found a replacement body and had no memory of you as his wife. He wouldn't be at all interested in your pregnancy or the baby. And he would miss out on that wonderful time. Let him stay a ghost – and a secret from everyone – until after the baby comes. Then he can start looking for a body to step into."

Elizabeth sat down in the chair and nodded agreeably when she realized that made sense.

"Your memory came back?" Elizabeth looked at Stan for reassurance.

"Sure did. Couldn't forget about this pretty wife of mine for too long," he said with a nod to his wife.

"All of it came back?"

"Every detail."

"How long does it take? To get his memory back?" Elizabeth asked anxiously.

"That depends on you."

"What do you mean?"

"The more time I spent with Stan, or Jasper as he was then, the more he remembered me. The more that the Stan part came out. He was in Jasper body and that body held memories – kind of like muscle memory and a history of Jasper's life. And yet, it was Stan's soul and Stan's personality and memories trying to overcome the lingering parts of Jasper."

"What did you do?" Elizabeth inquired. Jack was now standing beside her holding her hand tightly in his.

"I knew he was in there even if he didn't. So, I brought baked treats to him. I asked him to go for walks with me. I offered him small jobs around the house. I purposefully showed up in places where I knew he would be. I found ways for us to be together. My family thought it was odd – the whole town did. I was newly widowed by the love of my life and suddenly I was throwing myself into a new relationship with rude Jasper Purdue. But I knew Stan was in there, waiting for me to help him remember."

"And he did? You said he did," Elizabeth noted anxiously.

"It took a while. First it was little things. Like he'd say that something seemed familiar to him but he couldn't understand why it would. One day, he had chopped some wood for me and was leaving. He started to call out goodbye and stopped himself. I watched him with his hand raised in a wave and the word on the tip of his tongue. He looked totally confused and fumbled for something to say. Finally, he just said 'yeah, okay, well, so long,' and rode away."

"He didn't say _goodbye_ because Stan never did," Elizabeth said almost to herself.

"That's right," Hazel replied. "I tried to spend as much time with him as possible. Each day, I noticed more of Stan coming back to me. His personality. The way he walked. The foods he liked. A favorite joke he used to tell. I practically threw myself at him sometimes. I have to admit that I wasn't terribly patient. One day, I finally just stood on a stool, told him to walk over to me, and then kissed him smack on the lips."

"What did he do?! Did his memory return then?"

"A little. He just didn't realize it. He stuttered a bit about how much he wanted to court me and how he didn't want to be too forward. And then he walked away. But as he left, he turned back to me and said 'see you soon for another kiss'. Just like he used to say before the accident. He practically tripped over his own feet when the words came out of his mouth. He started apologizing for being too forward, but I just smiled and told him it was okay. I knew my Stan was coming through. The closer we got to each other, the quicker his memories began to come back to him. Kissing seemed to help a great deal."

"I like kissing," Jack volunteered.

"Jack likes kissing," Elizabeth eagerly repeated on his behalf and then immediately started to blush. "We both do."

* * *

Elizabeth closed the door after the brief interruption and eagerly turned back to the occupants of her home.

Abigail had come to bring over dinner, but Elizabeth had politely shooed her way, explaining that the Purdues were there and she was enjoying their company so Abigail didn't have to worry about her being lonely.

While Elizabeth had been at the door speaking to Abigail, Stan had talked quietly to Jack, or at least in the direction he had last seen Elizabeth speaking to her husband; Stan hoped that the Mountie was still in earshot.

Stan's words had caused Jack to have more questions, and he had been trying to make a list of them for Elizabeth to ask Stan but the pencil kept sliding through his fingers.

"Damn it", he frustratingly exclaimed for the third time.

"It's okay, Jack. Abigail's gone," Elizabeth said when she saw Jack's frustration. "Tell me what you what me to ask."

"Everything" Jack cried out. "I want to know everything. How I'll feel. Will I have a desire to be with you even though I don't know why? Will I have my old personality? How confused will I be?"

Elizabeth relayed Jack's concerns to Hazel and Stan and they reassured the Thorntons that Jack would likely find himself inexplicably drawn to Elizabeth, falling in love with her, and that the more time they spent together, the more his memory and personality would return.

"It took a few weeks until he felt really comfortable with me, and then he just kept asking me for more information. Why he felt so connected to me? Why he knew my favorite flowers? Why did he remember stepping on my cat's tail when he had never seen my cat as a kitten? Why did he know that I loved the smell of wet grass after a rainstorm? Why did he remember kissing me in a pile of fallen leaves when it wasn't even Autumn yet? Things like that."

"Okay. This won't be so hard," Elizabeth reasoned with determination as she looked at Jack. "I will just have to flirt with you a bit. Ask you to walk me home from school. Find reasons to visit you. How hard can it be? I got you to spend time with me before when you were adamant that you didn't want a relationship."

"You're right," Jack agreed. "You'll just have to keep working on it until I get my memory fully back."

"Don't worry, Jack. You can count on me." Elizabeth gave his hand a confident squeeze. "I can do this."

"There's that hubris I love," he replied with a smile. "I'll try really hard to remember you. To remember _us,_ " he added earnestly.

"I know you will. We'll do this together." Elizabeth's smile lit up her face as she looked at the love of her life and envisioned a future with him.

* * *

"Why aren't they smiling?" Jack's own grin faded when he looked over to the couch. "They're looking worried."

Elizabeth looked at the Purdues, and noticed that they were indeed starting to shift uncomfortably on the cushions.

"Is there something more you're not telling us?" she asked the couple.

Hazel spoke hesitantly. "I'm just not sure if you're understanding everything you'll be facing."

"I am. I am," Elizabeth said quickly with confidence in her ability to meet the challenge and succeed. "I have to basically spend my time talking and being with Jack so he'll remember us. Maybe we'll dance together!" she said excitedly as the idea came to her. "I bet he'll remember our dances!"

"That's a great idea!" Jack agreed. "We loved to dance together."

"I'll ask you to dance, and when you're in my arms and listening to the music, you'll remember our first date!" she remarked eagerly. "And the night of the Mountie's ball when we stayed in town!"

"And when I asked you to dance under the tent to the music box!"

"And when I recreated our first date after we were married and we danced again at the Café! Yes, that's perfect! I just find a way to dance with you and you'll remember us!"

The couple smiled adoringly at each other and for a moment they didn't even remember that the Purdues were still in the room. Jack and Elizabeth were too enthralled with the idea of being together again totally.

"Elizabeth, dear", Hazel spoke up. "It's just – it's just that if Jack finds a body, he'll have to move quickly."

"I can move quick!" Jack announced.

"He can move quick," Elizabeth repeated agreeably for the couple's benefit.

"It's not easy to find a suitable person to replace. I got lucky," Stan noted.

"I'll find someone. Even if I have to look and look every day and night. Except when I'm spending time with the baby," Jack promised quickly.

"He'll look and look!" Elizabeth told the Purdues. "Until he finds one. We won't give up!"

Hazel still seemed bothered by something and she didn't return Elizabeth's enthusiasm. "No, Stan means that Jack may not even be in Hope Valley if he can't find anyone here and goes looking elsewhere," Hazel explained.

"Oh, I see what you mean," Elizabeth said understandably. "That may make it more difficult. We may not be able to spend a lot of time together at first because it would look strange for me to be so interested in someone new to town. That's okay. Jack and I always say that love is patient. I'll move slowly so we don't get too many curious questions."

"No, I think you're missing the point. I was very lucky that I was with Stan when he found Jasper. I _saw_ him enter Jasper. If Jack takes the first available man he finds, you may not be there."

"That's okay," Elizabeth remarked. "I don't mind. That might be too sad anyway. I don't mind not seeing it happen. In fact, I'd prefer not to see the other man die. I know it has to happen and it won't be our fault in any way, and that the other man will grant Jack permission, but it would be terribly. . . well . . . tragic. It's fine if Jack has to go searching for someone by himself. He'll take the first chance he gets. It doesn't matter if I'm not there. I'll be busy with school most days anyway."

Elizabeth picked up the fresh glass of cider that Stan had brought over and took a sip.

 _Everything's going to work out! s_ he thought with relief. _Jack and the baby and I are going to be a family!_

Elizabeth stopped drinking with the glass still raised near her mouth when she saw the horrified look on Jack's face. It was clear that he understood something that she hadn't yet grasped.

"What? What am I missing?" she questioned, but Jack was too upset to answer her.

"Elizabeth, remember that Jack won't have a memory of you-" Hazel said patiently.

"I know. I know. But that's okay. _I'll_ have our memories."

"He'll think he's the other man. He won't know that he's Jack Thornton."

"But I will!" Elizabeth exclaimed enthusiastically. "I'll help him get his memories back! He can climb into the first body that's offered to him – no matter where it is and when he's come to Hope Valley, I'll make friends with him. I'll take him for long walks – to the top of the hill where we first kissed. To the homesite! We'll go rowing in the pond!"

"Those are all very good ideas but –"

Elizabeth interrupted the other woman as more ideas came to her. "I'll have him stop by the schoolhouse! He'll remember that. He built it for me. And we were married there! I'm sure it will jog his memory. We'll walk. We'll talk. We'll kiss. We'll dance!"

"Elizabeth," Hazel said delicately. "If you don't see Jack enter a body, you won't know what body he's in. And he won't know he's Jack Thornton. Do you understand what I'm saying? He won't have any way of letting you know that he's stepped into another body."

Elizabeth's face scrunched up in confusion. She was obviously still missing the point because she didn't understand why Hazel and Stan looked concerned.

Elizabeth turned to look at Jack and was surprised to see that he looked like he wanted to vomit.

"Jack, what's wrong? What don't I understand?"

"If I go looking for a body, and find one, I could be any man in the world, "Jack said with a strangled voice. "Out there with no memory of you. And you would never know. I could be a stranger you pass on the street, and you would never know it's me inside if you don't see me step into the body," he repeated in a daze. "We would never know each other. You'd walk right past me. I'd be lost in someone else's life and you wouldn't know how to find me."

 **Up next: Chapter 24**

 **Dear Readers: Jack and Elizabeth are so adorably in love that sometimes their enthusiasm gets ahead of them. (I guess because they took so long to get together in the first place!** 😊 )

 **We'll have to see how they navigate this little obstacle. I'm sure they'll have some ideas.** 😊

P.S. I love some of the terms you use in your reviews - Holy Cow, twist, navigate this obstacle, wow, your mouth hanging open. Love your word choices!


	24. Chapter 24 - How to Get a Man

**CHAPTER 24 – HOW TO GET A HUSBAND**

"No, no, NO!" Elizabeth yelled at Jack. "You are not going to try to find another body! We will just keep doing things the way we have been."

The couple were alone arguing in their home. The Purdues had gone back to their farm, leaving the stunned Thorntons to digest what they had learned -that when Jack took over another body, Elizabeth would need to know whose body it had been so she could contact the new Jack and help him remember his old life as Jack Thornton.

"Things are going fine like they are. We'll just keep it this way," she added when Jack gave her a disagreeable look.

"No! It's not fair to stay this way! It's not fair to you, it's not fair to me, it's not fair to our baby," Jack declared. "I want to be a real father to our baby."

"You will be. The baby will know you. We've learned that. The very young can see you. Like animals. Young and innocent creatures can see and hear you."

"Our baby is not a creature. It's not a bat or a dog or a horse."

"You know what I mean," Elizabeth argued. "Our child will know you from the beginning."

"For how long?! What happens when our baby is a toddler and begins to speak. Does he just tell people that daddy is invisible? Am I his _invisible friend_?"

"Yes! At least you'll be there."

"Like some secret?!"

"A very good secret. The best of all secrets," she said as she tried to soothe Jack.

I don't want to be a _secret_. I want to be a _FATHER!_ With a body! I want to teach our child how to ride a horse, and hit a ball, and fire a weapon. I want to teach him or her how to fish and tell them stories."

"You can do all that! The three of us can be a family. You don't need someone else's body."

Jack let out a deep sigh and paused for a moment. "And when our son or daughter turns four or five. What happens if he can't see me then? If I disappear to him when he gets older?"

"You won't!" Elizabeth said confidently. "I can see you and I'm an adult. There just has to be all the love we have. Don't worry, our son or daughter will always be able to see you."

"But will he want to?" Jack challenged.

Elizabeth paused. "What do you mean?"

"What happens when the kids at school tease him?"

"Why would they tease him?"

"You have got to be kidding me?! You don't think he'll get teased when other kids find out that he's been talking to his dead father? It will be merciless."

"Who cares what other kids say?" Elizabeth argued.

Jack raised his eyebrows at her.

"Who cares what other kids say? Who cares what other kids say? I CARE WHAT OTHER KIDS SAY if they're teasing our boy about talking to his dead father!" Jack exploded causing Elizabeth to jump back in surprise. "You think anyone will want to play ball with him? You think any girls will play jump rope with our daughter if she's seen speaking to an invisible me?"

"It won't be so bad," Elizabeth said dismissively.

"He or she will be ostracized. You can forget invitations to birthday parties. Who's going to invite the kid that says her dead father taught her how to tie her shoe and told her to eat her vegetables. They'll just throw a slice of birthday cake out the window when our sad pathetic child walks by. See which student can smack little crazy Thornton in the face."

"Stop it!"

"And when it's time to partner up at school for activities, you think anyone will partner with our kid? Why bother when the looney kid already has a partner. His dead dad. The other kids won't know if I'm there or not, so they'll just spit in the direction of our kid and see if I jump in to keep their phlegm from landing on him."

"Stop it! Stop it!"

"You think it will be any different?" Jack challenged. "He or she won't have a friend in the world. Except you and a psychiatrist."

"I'm the town teacher. I'll put them in their place if they dare tease our child!"

"For Pete's sake," Jack shook his head. "Think logically. We cannot go on this way indefinitely."

"Yes, we can," she answered firmly. "Now let's just get ready for bed and forget this whole conversation."

"No." Jack stood firmly across the room from Elizabeth and folded his arms in front of him.

"No?"

"No. I am not going to bed with you. I am not making love to you. You know why?"

"Because you're being childish?"

The look on Jack's face let her know that he wasn't pleased with her answer.

"Because we talked about having a houseful of children one day. Don't you still want that?"

That definitely wasn't the answer Elizabeth had expected. Actually, she didn't know what she had expected but it wasn't that.

She gave him a puzzled look.

"What?"

"We talked about having a houseful of children one day," he repeated. "Don't you still want that?"

Elizabeth gave a little snort. "I'm not sure if you understand how this whole thing works, Jack. But I'm already pregnant. And you going to bed with me now isn't going to add more children into my belly."

"You and I planned our lives. Marriage. Family. A house on the hill. And that's what we're going to have. We've hit an obstacle but we'll get past it. We're going to have the life we planned."

The way he acted reminded Elizabeth of why she had fallen in love with him - he knew what he wanted.

He wanted a life with her and he was determined to have it.

"I will not lose you again!" Elizabeth declared forcefully. "You will wait for me to see you enter a body or you will not enter any body."

"That may never happen! You heard Stan. I have to step into a body quickly. Within seconds. That means that I have to go to places where there is likely to be something tragic happening. Dangerous places. Mines. Horses races. Forest fires. Factories."

"Then I'll go with you!"

"Elizabeth," Jack began. He stopped when he remembered another time she had offered to go with him.

Actually, twice before.

Without thinking first of herself, she had volunteered to go with him to the Northern Territories, and again when he had to go away to teach young Mounties. Both times, he had refused her offer. How he now wished that he could have spent that time with her. But it wasn't fair to her.

"Elizabeth, I love you, you know that. But you can't go with me to a dangerous area. And it will be dangerous. It's not like I'm likely to find a dying man at a town's local library or dress shop."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't even tell me that you think those are the only place that women can be."

Jack scowled. "You know I don't. But be reasonable. You cannot come with me."

"Why not?" she interrupted before he could say any more. "Name one reason. We're married. Where you go, I go. I should never have let you leave without me before."

"You're pregnant. There's your one reason. We can't put the baby at risk."

Elizabeth sighed in frustration. Jack was right about that. They couldn't risk her pregnancy.

"If I don't see you step into the body, we'll never get together!" she practically wailed as her eyes welled up with frustrated tears.

Jack raked his hand through his hair in his own frustration. "Yes, we will. We just have to plan it," he conceded.

"A plan? Okay, what's our plan?"

"How about I agree to only get permission from a guy with brown hair? That will be a clue to you."

"That's more than half the population! What kind of clue is that?!" Elizabeth asked critically.

"Then guys with brown hair that have business in Hope Valley. Loggers or railroad workers. Or . . . or something!" Jack suggested wildly.

Elizabeth looked skeptically at him. "I'm supposed to flirt with every brown-haired man that comes into Hope Valley in the hopes that one of them is you and I can jog your memory?! Well, won't I be quite the happy widow. That should be interesting."

"Elizabeth –"

"I can hear the talk now," she interrupted him. "Wild Widow. Easy Elizabeth. She can't stop throwing herself at men. Just had a baby and suddenly wants to dance with every man she sees."

"Okay. So maybe I haven't though this through yet," Jack conceded. "But I am going to do this. We are going to be a family."

"You promised you'd be here for the baby! You promised."

"And I will," Jack said passionately. "I will not step into another man until after the baby comes. I don't want to miss that. But after the baby comes, I will start looking. If that means I leave Hope Valley to search for some unfortunate other man who is tragically going to leave this world, I will."

Elizabeth glared at the man she loved. "How will I know it's you?"

"We'll find a way. I promise." Jack looked at her, his eyes pleading with her to consider letting him try to find a suitable replacement body.

"We don't even know how long it took Stan to get his memory back," she said with mild irritation when she admitted to herself that she could never refuse Jack. "Or what finally made it happen. How am I supposed to get your whole memory back?"

"Does that mean you're willing to consider me doing this? . . . . After the baby comes?" Jack asked quickly.

Elizabeth let out a deep breath. "Maybe. We'll see. But I should talk to Hazel some more. Find out the moment everything came back to Stan. So that we know more about how this works. We don't even know what finally let him entirely break through."

"Actually, I do," Jack replied. "Stan told me when you were at the door with Abigail."

"You know? How he got his full memory back? That's wonderful. That will make it easier for me to get your memory back and I won't waste time on ordinary nobodies! How did it happen? What was the deciding factor?!" she asked enthusiastically.

"Something happened and all his memories came flooding back," Jack said almost too nonchalantly. He turned away from Elizabeth and tried to pull back the bed covers but his hands slipped through the material.

"What happened?"

"Look, Elizabeth, we don't need to worry about that yet. It's still a long way off."

"Jack, if there's a quick way to get your memory back when you're in a new body, I need to know. I'll do whatever it takes!"

"I don't think you should say that," Jack told her hesitantly.

Elizabeth stomped her foot in frustration. "Don't be silly. How did Stan get his full memory back? What did Hazel do?"

"Listen, Elizabeth, it's not like you would do it with every stranger that comes to town."

"Maybe I will."

"I don't think so," Jack said warily.

"What did she do? Did she take him to a special place where they first declared their love? I could take men to the coal mine and see if it triggers anything. If it doesn't, I know that they're not you. Did she make his favorite meal? I'll make spaghetti for every man I meet, and if they don't like it, I'll know that they're not you."

"Elizabeth –"

"Jack! Tell me. What made all his memories come flooding back to him?! I'll quickly do it with every stranger and not waste my time getting to know them more."

Jack didn't have a choice but to tell Elizabeth as she stood in front of him waiting for an answer.

"She made love to him."

 **Up Next: Chapter 25**


	25. Chapter 25 - I Agree

**CHAPTER 25 – I AGREE**

Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock.

"She made love to him before he had his memory entirely back?" she gasped.

"They were married. Technically. . . . Sort of."

Jack shrugged when Elizabeth continued to stare at him in surprise. His statement that fifty years ago Stan had gotten his full memory back due to making love to Hazel had left Elizabeth momentarily stunned.

"She knew it was him so she seduced him", Jack added by way of a simple explanation.

" _Old_ Mrs. Purdue _seduced_ him?"

"She wasn't old Mrs. Purdue then. She was a pretty eighteen-year-old who was desperately in love with her husband and knew it was him."

"And he went along with it? With . . . .. being . . . _intimate_ with her even though he didn't know they had ever been married?"

Elizabeth slowly unbuttoned her blouse as she thought about the scandalous implications of Hazel sleeping with "Jasper Perdue" before having been remarried in his new form.

"He had a lot of his memories back already. He knew he had a connection with her. Some sort of past. And he was young and a guy and . . .well, she seduced him. It worked - he remembered they were married. His memories all came flooding back."

"I bet that's not the only thing that came flooding back," Elizabeth muttered.

"Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth hung her skirt in the closet, looked to the heavens, and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, this is just terrific. I'm supposed to make love to every man that comes to Hope Valley in the hopes that one of them is you and it brings back your memory? What is this? Sin City?!"

"Don't be silly."

"Hope Valley - where every man hopes to get lucky with the widow Thornton?"

"Stop it," Jack retorted disagreeably.

"I'll be like Catherine the Great with her many lovers."

"She was queen of Russia. You are a teacher of a small town. You are nothing like Catherine the Great. And you are not going to have to have multiple lovers in a search for me."

"Then maybe I'll be like Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter. I could wear a scarlet "T" for tramp," Elizabeth noted as she pensively considered the thought of sewing enough "T"s to affix to all her clothes.

"Or maybe I'll be considered promiscuous like Anna Karenina – except . . . well, things didn't end so well for her," Elizabeth continued with a shudder. "The whole death by train thing."

Jack scowled. "You are NOT supposed to make love to every man who comes to town. You'll know it's me. For God's sakes, if you're not sure, don't do it!"

"Maybe I should. This is getting intriguing," Elizabeth said with a straight face.

"Don't tease me," he practically growled.

"Maybe I'll even run a kissing booth like Faith and Florence did one year." Elizabeth pursed her lips and made a kissing sound. "Now that's an idea. Ten cents to kiss the merry widow. And we'll see where things go after that."

"It won't be like that. You're not that kind of girl," Jack reminded her, although Elizabeth was pretty sure she saw a glint of worry in his eyes.

"I'll be the belle of the ball."

Elizabeth twirled in a soft circle as she finished changing into her nightgown.

"There aren't any balls in Hope Valley."

"Maybe not fancy balls, but there'll be dances. A waltz is a waltz no matter where you do it. Unless it's the Viennese Waltz. Hmmm. I wonder if there will be any Austrian men coming to town. They have strong accents but I should be able to understand the language of love."

"There will be no language of love from an Austrian with a strong accent!"

"If you say so, dear."

Jack grumbled and paced the floor for a few steps. "There'll be other ways beside dancing to figure out it's me. You should be able pick up on things like the way I talk or say something. Things will be familiar about me. You only have to dance with me -or someone you think is me- after you're already pretty sure its me."

"There are so many brown-haired men out there. You did say that you'd choose someone with brown hair, didn't you?" she asked in a light and airy voice.

Elizabeth looked around the room without waiting for Jack to respond. "I do hope they like this bedroom. The sheets are nice, aren't they?"

"Enough" Jack said firmly. "You are NOT making love to anyone but ME. You shouldn't even be kissing anyone but me!"

"Then _you_ had better make sure that _I_ know it's _you,_ " she retorted pointedly before turning on her heels and heading downstairs.

 _He's not going to dare stepping into a body without me being there to see it,_ Elizabeth smugly thought to herself. _I've won this battle._

* * *

"You can do it. Step into another body if I'm not there and you find an opportunity."

Elizabeth closed the bedroom with one hand and set her glass on the dresser. After locking up for the night, she had wandered into the kitchen, poured herself milk from a jug in the icebox, and thought about Jack and her future.

And about her past.

It was the past that finally made her decision for her. She should have known what to do when the Purdues first told her that Jack may have a memory loss. She had known for months; she just hadn't realized it.

It had been written down on a piece of paper so long ago that neither Jack nor she had thought about it.

Jack who was standing by the window, looking outside at people walking by, turned abruptly when he heard her speak.

"Really?!"

"Yes. We'll have to make some type of plan. Some criteria to make it easier for me to find you. But you can do it."

"Are you sure?"

"I am. I'll find you."

"I want you to be absolutely sure. But I do really want a real body." His voice showed his eagerness. "One with all its molecules", he added with a smile.

"I'm okay with it," Elizabeth acquiesced.

"I don't want you kissing a bunch of guys. I know I shouldn't be jealous but I can't help it," he admitted as he pictured the scene. "I don't like the idea of you with anyone else. Can you try really hard to make sure it's me or not me, and just leave kissing until you're almost positive it's me?"

Elizabeth smiled. "I promise. No wild kissing."

"What made you decide? Fifteen minutes ago, you were still waffling. And more opposed than in favor."

Jack was right. Before heading downstairs to turn the bolt on the front door and get a night-time refreshment, Elizabeth had only reluctantly agreed to even consider having Jack enter a body if she wasn't around.

"You told me to find you," she said matter-of-factly. "And I'm going to do what you told me to do."

"I didn't _tell_ you. I _asked_ you."

"Actually, you _told_ me."

"I did not. Okay, maybe I argued with you. But I wouldn't order you to do anything."

"You gave me explicit instructions."

Jack looked totally puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"We've never given up on each other. Ever. Everything we said and did before your accident is giving us the chance to be together again."

"You're talking about our marriage vows?"

"Not just that. We pledged ourselves together for ever, our souls for eternity. But it's more than that. If you died before me, you were always meant to come back to me. I was always meant to look for you if you died."

"I'm confused."

"You told me to find you."

"Elizabeth, I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't tell you to find me. I had no idea I'd be a ghost."

"You DID tell me," she said emphatically with a smile. "You gave me instructions."

"What instructions?!" Jack asked in disbelief.

"Before your accident, you wrote that if anything happened to you, you wanted me to open my heart to love again one day."

"But what does that have to do with our situation?"

"I didn't understand at the time how that would ever be possible. You are the only man that I have ever loved. You told me to find _love_ _again_. Don't you see? I have to find YOU again _. YOU_ are my _LOVE._ You didn't tell me to find a new husband. You didn't tell me to get married to someone new. You told me to open my heart to LOVE again. You were telling me that if you died, I have to be willing to open myself up to the different possibilities because one of them will be love. One of them will be YOU.

Every look of love and emotion shown through Jack's face as he looked at her.

"Elizabeth –" he quietly protested.

"Shh", she said tenderly.

She reached out a finger and gently placed it on his lips to silence any further protest.

"I know it's true. I know we are meant to have a life together. You unknowingly gave me the answer on how we could be together and how I could be happy again."

"I just wanted you to be happy," he replied softly.

"That was the final piece of the puzzle. We wondered why you're a ghost. Was it just our love? Was it my pledge when you proposed? Was it our marriage vows? It was all of that and then, the final thing that made it happen, was you."

"Me?" The skepticism was still evident in his voice.

"When you made your declaration for me to open my heart to love again – which was totally selfless, you unwittingly made it possible to return to me. You instructed me to find love again. That's you. So if you inhabit another body and I need to find you again, I will. I will never give up on us."

Jack's eyes welled with tears as he cupped her face in his hands.

"I love you."

"I love you, too. And I will find you. I promise."

 **Up Next: Chapter 26. Sink or Swim**


	26. Chapter 26 Sink or Swim

**CHAPTER 26 – SINK OR SWIM**

"Can you get him down, please?" Elizabeth asked with a mouthful of toothpaste. She pointed her toothbrush at the dog who was lying on the bed and then she spit into the large ceramic bowl on her dry sink.

Jack, sitting on the edge of the mattress, scratched behind Rip's ears and then gently nudged the dog onto the floor. "Go on, boy, off you go."

"He likes it up here. He could never get up here before."

"I know but I don't like his slobber on my pillow," Elizabeth replied. "And I swear I'm finding dog hairs on the covers which is impossible since he can't shed."

It had been two weeks since Elizabeth and Jack had discussed finding a replacement body for Jack. Once they had decided that it was worth the fear, hard work, and uncertainty which might be required for Jack to return to his wife and child as a whole person, the couple had put the idea from their minds.

It was still months until Elizabeth gave birth, and the couple had agreed that Jack would remain in his present form for several weeks, or even a few months, after the baby's arrival. With nothing to do about his lack of solid form until next Spring, the couple decided not to dwell on what may happen, and instead decided that they would enjoy the time they had until Jack began his search.

"How do I look?" Elizabeth turned to fully face Jack and held out her arms from her side.

"Fine. Why? How are you supposed to look?"

"Like a lifeguard!" Elizabeth responded, somewhat surprised that it hadn't been obvious.

"A lifeguard?"

"The whistle around my neck. My hair pulled back. The hat to keep the sun out of my eyes."

"That's how lifeguards look?"

"Yes. _This_ is how a lifeguard looks," she said with wide eyes and disagreeable frown on her face because Jack couldn't see how efficient and qualified she looked.

"I've only ever seen lifeguards that are muscular men wearing black one-piece bathing suits. Who are you supposed to guard in a long skirt, frilly blouse, oh, and how can I forget with a whistle and your hair pulled back under a hat?"

Elizabeth put her hands on her hips and gave her husband another frown and took a condescending tone. "It's the first day of swim lessons. I thought that since we don't have a Royal Life Saver for the town, I would handle things."

"A Life Saver?" Jack scoffed. "Sounds like a candy. Those round Pep-O-Mint things you like."

Jack laughed and ducked to avoid a pillow flying through the air at him.

The corner of the pillow would have hit him if his form was solid, instead it went through his right shoulder, causing him to shudder with a chill but he retained his smile.

"They save lives!"

"I know who the Royal Life Savers are," he chuckled. "One of my friends at the Academy earned the society's Bronze Medallion. But women aren't life savers. No matter how adorable they look."

"Well, I'm going to be a life saver today," Elizabeth answered as if the matter was settled. "You were right about most of the children not knowing how to swim. There just aren't enough warm months in the summer, but they really need to know. I thought I would watch from the edge of the pond just to make sure that no one is having trouble with the lessons."

"I'll join you."

"Fine. But no talking."

"No talking?"

"You know that I am so used to you that I forgot no one else can hear you or see you. I even forget that you're a ghost and I end up answering you in public. So, you need to be quiet."

"No problem. I like touching you better anyway," he responded with a grin.

Elizabeth gave him a warning look.

"Don't you dare, Jack Thornton."

Over the past few days, Jack had taken pleasure in finding ways to amuse himself while Elizabeth was among other people.

His favorite new past-time when he wasn't checking the town for illegal activity or dangers was to time how long she could remain unfazed while he attempted to seduce her in public.

He discovered that tenderly breathing in her ear and down her neck generally brought a reaction – a wistful sigh – within about two seconds.

Twirling a very small strand of her hair around one of his fingers while standing only an inch away from her and holding a steady lustful gaze caused her to stutter in midsentence every time.

Running a hand along her waist caused her to immediately twitch and have to act as if she was swatting away a bug, which always made him chuckle.

But those reactions were nothing compared to when he touched her in other places.

Slowly running a hand along her lower backside or along the length of her leg resulted in the best of all possible responses – a flustered Elizabeth would excuse herself from her company and hurry home to the bedroom.

"No touching. I have an important task watching the students," she now said firmly. "Are we clear?"

"Yes, teacher. I promise to behave."

* * *

"I think these outfits are indecent", Florence Blakely griped from where she stood a safe distance from the water.

The clouds which covered the skies of Hope Valley on more days than not were absent and the sun was a brilliant yellow – the perfect weather for swimming. At least for two-legged mammals. The screams and splashes of the town citizens had frightened away every duck, fish, and frog.

Several men and boys, usually seen in trousers, rough shirts, and suspenders, were dressed in solid colored tank suits – tight-fitting one-piece outfits with two-inch wide shoulder straps.

The female students were also wearing one-piece outfits but their shoulders were covered with fabric even though their lower arms were left bare. Their skirts and the tights underneath the skirts came to just below the knees.

"I can see their legs! Bare legs! And their arms. And look how tight fitting the top part of the girls' outfit is. It's certainly revealing."

"Florence, we want them to be able to swim," Faith replied. "Not drown in the fabric. These are totally acceptable. The town ordered them from the Sears Roebuck catalogue."

"They just seem to be a little scant on fabric," Florence replied with an air of snobbery. "You would never catch me wearing something like that."

Jack snickered. "That's because no one would chase after you if you were wearing that. Personally, I'd run in the opposite direction."

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from laughing aloud, and shot Jack a warning look. Unabashed, he winked back.

"C'mon, Elizabeth. You've got to admit that seeing Florence's legs is not exactly top on my list of things to do. Now your legs are a different story."

"Quiet," she muttered under her breath as she pretended to look at a wet spot on her skirt while still smiling.

"Hey, I'm not touching!" he said in defense with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Did you tell me to be quiet, Elizabeth?" an offended Florence turned to look at her in surprise.

Elizabeth cleared her throat and gave Florence an authoritative look. "Yes. If you don't mind. I need to be able to hear if any of the children are in trouble. I really need to concentrate on them."

Jack's idea for the town's children to all learn how to swim had been met with enthusiasm by most of the parents, but the logistics of having available adults to teach them, good weather, and Rosemary Colter's theatrical demand for proper swimsuits that she and Dottie did not have time to sew, meant that it had now been several weeks since little Watson Snyder had almost drowned.

"You put her in her place," Jack teased as Elizabeth moved closer to the water's edge. "That's the authoritarian Life Saver in you. Don't let the power go to your head."

"You promised to behave."

"I am, Mrs. Thornton."

Elizabeth bent her head to hide her face. "I am trying to work," she reminded him quietly.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And you don't want me to be dull, do you?"

"Go bother someone else", Elizabeth warned him.

"Is that a challenge?" Jack asked with a curious smile. "Because I was an eligible bachelor for a long time. I'm sure quite a few ladies would want me blowing romantically in their ear."

"No one else can sense you, silly."

"Maybe they can."

"No, they can't."

"I've been talking to people. In town. When I do my rounds. At night when I check on people to make sure all is well."

"And not one of them has responded," she reminded him.

Elizabeth knelt down and unnecessarily re-tied her bootlace so no one could see her mouth moving when she spoke again.

"I'm sorry that you're bored but I have to watch the students. It was my idea for lessons."

"Actually, it was my idea."

"You know what I mean. The town thinks it was my idea. I have to be here to watch them."

"Fine. I'll go talk to the other ladies."

"If you want to waste your breath, go ahead. They can't hear you or see you or feel you."

"I've been getting stronger," Jack boasted. "And if they had strong feelings for me before, I could maybe get through to them."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Your own mother can't sense you."

"Maybe it has to be a different kind of feeling. Passionate love. Infatuation. Romantic interest. Undying devotion. Worship.

"Faith is right over there," Elizabeth challenged under her breath. "And Florence. And Dottie. And Rosemary. Go to it if you think there's a woman who's a better match for you."

Jack looked at Elizabeth with a teasing grin and then moved to stand behind Faith.

* * *

Elizabeth ignored her husband and tried to concentrate on the children in the water.

At least she tried to, but she found herself unable to _not_ watch as Jack began blowing gently in Faith's left ear.

Elizabeth felt an unreasonable weight start to form in her stomach, and her mind began contemplating worrisome thoughts.

 _What if Faith can sense him?_

 _Don't be silly. They were never in love._

 _But she used to like him. At least I thought she did when they met in Hamilton. And if things hadn't worked out between us, maybe they would have become a couple._

 _No. She won't be able to sense him. They weren't all that close._

 _But what if it's not just me that's special to him? Now that he's stronger, maybe any woman that he was close to can sense him?_

Elizabeth determinedly turned away and watched the children splashing as they learned to swim. _Life Saving duty. That's more important than worrying about silly nonsense,_ she reminded herself. _I love Jack. Jack loves me._

Ten-year-old Simon accidently kick Mr. Watson in the jaw while attempting to do the freestyle stroke, but no one seemed in danger of drowning so Elizabeth then returned her gaze to Faith and Jack.

Faith had thrown back her head and was laughing.

For a moment, a displeased Elizabeth thought that maybe Jack's breath was pleasantly tickling the nurse,.

Then she realized that Faith was pointing to Carson, who had a lily pad on his head, and Jack had a frown on his face.

Elizabeth felt herself immediately relax. _Right. Faith always did have a crush on Carson. They work together. Really, how dense can he be for a doctor that he hasn't realized it yet?_

When Jack caught Elizabeth's eye, he shrugged and moved over behind Dottie Ramsey, who was standing far enough away from the pond in the hopes of keeping her new dress from getting wet from splashes.

 _For Pete's sake, Dottie couldn't care the least bit about him. I've got nothing to worry about._

* * *

"Hurry now, you don't want to be the only one in the water."

Elizabeth turned in the direction of the voice and watched as Abigail and Cody, who were twenty minutes late, hurriedly approached the pond. Abigail, holding tightly to her adopted son's hand, nudged the boy forward.

"He says he's not feeling good," a somewhat unconvinced Abigail explained to Elizabeth when she walked over to her.

Elizabeth's face showed her surprise as she remembered back to yesterday at school when Cody had bragged to several of the other students that he was an experienced swimmer and would show them all how to do it.

"If he already knows how to swim, he doesn't need to take lessons. He can take the swim test later this week," Elizabeth offered helpfully.

Abigail kept on eye on Cody as the boy entered the water up to his thighs and then stopped moving. He looked somewhat like a deer which had just found itself in the sights of a rifle.

"I'm not sure he does," Abigail responded with a worried frown. "I've actually never seen him go past his waist. I never realized it before. I just assumed he learned how to swim before he came to Hope Valley."

"I was swimming! I was swimming!" a young girl's eager voice called out as she ran to Elizabeth and hugged her wet body to the teacher.

Elizabeth returned the sweet girl's embrace and enthusiasm. "You did wonderful, Opal. I'm so proud of you!"

"It's easy, Mrs. Thornton. Dr. Shephard says I'm like a fish!"

Elizabeth looked over at the water where Carson, Lee, and a few other men, were standing in the water with five of Elizabeth's students in various positions of confidence and ability. Another ten girls and boys, now including Cody, were standing in shallower water or on the grassy edge of the pond.

The doctor gave her a wave and a smile before returning his attention to a splashing student he was holding at arm's length.

"You were so worried yesterday and today you are so brave. Maybe you can tell some of the other students how you got so brave," Elizabeth suggested quietly to Opal while motioning towards Cody and a five-year old named Howard who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but the pond.

"I just pretended," a proud Opal replied matter-of-factly.

"Pretended?"

Opal nodded her head. "Having long hair helps so I don't think the boys can do it. I pretended that I'm a mermaid," she answered hurriedly before skipping back toward the pond and throwing herself in.

* * *

Elizabeth jumped back from the splashes.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jack, who was looking decidedly displeased with the lack of reactions he had so far achieved. After not getting a response from Faith, Dottie, or Florence, he was moving on to Rosemary.

"Jack" whispered Elizabeth under her breath. She caught his eye and shook her head almost imperceptibly.

He gave her a smile and refortified himself.

If anyone other than Elizabeth could sense him, it would be Rosemary - the only other woman Jack had ever considered marrying. And that had been youthful naivety and infatuation.

 _Don't you dare, Jack Thornton. Don't you dare get through to Rosemary. If she can sense you, I will never forgive you._

Elizabeth stomped her foot to get his attention and at almost at the same time gave a short tweet from her whistle.

Jack, who could be full of boyish charm or sexy manliness, now gave her a playful - somewhat mischievous - smile. Clearly, he had become bored - and maybe a bit lonely- as the town's only ghost and with only Elizabeth, his horse, and his faithful basset hound for company.

She knew she was being irrational.

Even if Rosemary could sense Jack, it wouldn't mean that Jack actually had strong feelings for the theatrical women. But logic didn't keep Elizabeth from being jealous.

 _If she can sense him, there are three possible reasons. One, it means they still have passionate feelings of love for each and he only came to me on the rebound after she dumped him._

 _Or two, he doesn't love her, but she has never gotten over Jack and wishes she had married him instead of Lee – poor Lee._

 _Or three, she's can sense Jack because he's gotten stronger and she's naïve like some dumb animal._

 _I'll go with number three._

Elizabeth held her breath as she watched Jack.

He smiled again at her and then tilted his head slightly and placed it close to the back of one of Rosemary's ears. Her ruby red earring dangled less than an inch from his lips.

 **Up Next: Chapter 27 Intuition**

 **ROLL TIDE!**

 **Dear Joyce C. - we must have been thinking of this chapter at the same time! Thanks for your message/review today.**


	27. Chapter 27 Intuition

**CHAPTER 27 INTUITION**

Thirty seconds later, Elizabeth found herself smiling. It was hard not to laugh as she watched Jack blow gently, then harder, then even harder, then practically exhale a lung onto Rosemary as he tried to get her to notice him.

He reminded Elizabeth of the wolf who tried to blow down the three pigs' homes with a huff and a puff.

Giving up on blowing like a hurricane into Rosemary's ear, a frustrated Jack, whose unsuccessful efforts at trying to get her attention had weakened him to the point that he was now flittering in and out of transparency, moved to stand in front of the woman.

"Rosemary! Rosemary! For goodness sakes, can't you hear me!" he yelled at her as he waved his hand in front of her face and then thrust his hand into her stomach. "We used to be engaged! You followed me to Hope Valley! Don't I mean anything to you?!"

Rosemary didn't flinch. She just continued to look at a magazine she had pulled out of her large handbag. While Jack screamed in her face, she took a finger and turned the page to look at another fashion design.

"Surely, I am more important to you that those dresses," he exclaimed in disgust.

Nothing. Except the turn of another page.

It was clear; Rosemary no longer had any feelings for Jack. At least not in the romantic, infatuation, worship, devotion way. Those feelings had ended years ago. And Jack's only feeling for Rosemary was annoyance. She had once been the woman of his dreams, she had traveled across the country to woo him back, and then . . .well . .. she had simply gotten over her infatuation with him.

 _It's downright insulting,_ Jack thought. It didn't matter that he considered Rosemary to be nothing more than a close friend. No man likes to think he can be romantically forgotten and replaced so easily.

 _Even if I got over her ages ago, she could at least have some lingering feelings for me._

Jack stopped his antics and scowled.

But only for a second.

Without bothering to move on the earth like a standard human, he disappeared into nothingness.

A split second later, he appeared in front of Abigail who was standing at the edge of the water.

 _She always considered herself something of a second mother to me,_ he thought. Putting aside the fact that his own mother couldn't sense him, Jack contemplated the best way to get through to the woman who was the town's mayor and part owner of the Café.

Maybe his charms didn't work on Faith, Dottie, or Rosemary, but his warm relationship with Abigail couldn't be so easily forgotten by her.

"Move," the woman ordered, causing both Jack and Elizabeth to jolt at her words.

"Move!" Abigail said again as Jack stood between her and the water.

A stunned Jack and an equally speechless Elizabeth widened their eyes at Abigail's words.

"Can she see me?" Jack questioned Elizabeth in astonishment.

He had been mostly teasing Elizabeth and, to be honest with himself, he really hadn't thought someone else would be able to sense him.

"Abigail, can you see him?" Elizabeth repeated tentatively from where she stood a dozen feet away.

Jack waited with a breathless pause for Abigail to answer as she continued to look straight ahead at him.

"Of course, I can," Abigail answered dismissively.

"You can see him?!"

"You can see me?!"

"He's right in front of me."

For a shocked moment, Jack was in awe. _I got through to someone other than Elizabeth_. _I'm stronger than I thought!_

But then he realized that Abigail wasn't looking _at_ him, she was looking _through_ him.

"Cody, move! You have to move your arms and legs! Put your face in."

Jack gave a grin of defeat and chuckled as Abigail, oblivious to his presence, watched her son standing nervously in the water.

"That's it, Elizabeth!" Jack called out. "Not another woman can sense me. You're it! My one true love."

"I already knew that!" she yelled back with a smile before realizing she had spoken aloud.

She clapped a hand over her mouth and furtively glanced around to make sure no one saw her talking into thin air.

Fortunately, the loud splashes, screams of unwilling and willing swim students, and the encouraging words of coaches and anxious parents, had kept everyone from paying attention to Elizabeth.

Jack strode over to Elizabeth and kissed her on the cheek. "How about I go do some rounds and meet up with you later?"

* * *

Five seconds later, Abigail looked in Elizabeth's direction and noticed that she had placed her hand on her belly and her lips were moving. Abigail couldn't hear what her friend was saying, but assumed that Elizabeth was talking to her unborn child. She had seen her doing it before. Perhaps even telling the baby about his or her courageous Mountie father. Abigail sighed in sadness. It didn't seem fair what had happened to the newlyweds. And yet, Elizabeth seemed to be handling it surprisingly well. She had more fortitude that she had been given credit when she first came to town as Coal Valley's new teacher.

Elizabeth was oblivious to her friend's scrutiny as she whispered to Jack.

"I thought you were going on rounds. Why'd you come back?"

"Can't leave without a kiss."

"I can't kiss you – as much as I'd like to. Someone will notice me kissing into thin air. And you already kissed me."

She hid her smile under her hat as she bent her head down.

"You're not the only one I want to kiss," Jack replied. ""I forgot to kiss this one."

He bent down and touched his lips to Elizabeth's belly in a gentle expression of affection. Looking up, he gave her a smile, and then disappeared.

Elizabeth's smile was replaced with a gasp as her hat was lifted off her head. She grabbed wildly for last season's expensive purchase from a Hamilton millinery store.

As Abigail watched, the wide-brimmed hat flew through the air like an acrobat in the wind– always just an inch from Elizabeth's grasp as she chased after it.

Half-way across the field, Elizabeth finally caught the hat and grasped it tightly as she wrestled it from an invisible Jack's clutches.

As she walked back to the pond, she heard Jack's chuckles echoing away in the distance.

* * *

Elizabeth, standing in front of the Cafe's window, threw a damp dishtowel over her shoulder and wiped her wet hands on her apron.

It had a been a long day but it had been fulfilling. Not only had most of students learned rudimentary swimming skills, but Elizabeth had just spent the past two hours plating food, washing dishes, and keeping an eye on simmering pots of stew, steaming green beans, and chicken steaks frying on the stove.

The Café had been busier than usual due to the day's good weather which had kept many families enjoying the sunshine rather than inside their own homes preparing dinners. As she had made her way through the crowded dining area earlier in the evening, Elizabeth had overheard several people talking about how grateful they were for the swimming lessons, and she had been pleasantly surprised to see one of her former students having dinner while in town visiting.

"Where's Cody going?" Elizabeth now asked over her shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" Abigail turned her attention from the last meatloaf of the night still keeping warm in the oven and gave Elizabeth a questioning look.

"I think Cody just sneaked out of the house. I heard something and think I just saw a figure or someone. It looked like Cody's size."

"I didn't see him go out the front door," volunteered Clara who walked in carrying several dirty plates which she dumped into the sink. "Abigail – I need more change up front", she called out as she headed back to the customer's area.

"He's upstairs doing his homework," an unconcerned Abigail replied to Elizabeth. She closed the oven door and poured the last of the gravy in a serving boat before moving across the room to the box where she kept extra change.

"I know he _should_ be, but I don't think he is. I think he climbed out the window and jumped off the porch roof," Elizabeth said with just a bit of uncertainty. Her teacher's intuition – based on more than a year of dealing with Cody on a regular basis- told her that he was up to no good.

"Why would he do that?"

"I don't know but I think he did."

Abigail walked over to the bottom of the stairs and called up. "Cody. Cody?"

When she didn't get a response, she gave a sigh and started up the staircase leaving Elizabeth alone in the kitchen.

"Jack?" Elizabeth whispered. "Jack?"

After more than a month, Elizabeth still wasn't sure how this whole ghost thing worked but more often than not Jack had been able to hear her if he wasn't too far away.

Of course, distance was hard to quantify because he was a spirit. But he had deduced that his ability to know when Elizabeth needed him was based on a combination of actual physical distance, the level of her need for him, and how tired he was. Although, Elizabeth didn't think Cody was necessarily in trouble, she knew that if Jack had been here in his old physical form, he would have volunteered to go after the boy. There was no reason, he couldn't be helpful now.

"Jack?" she whispered again.

"Did you say something?"

A startled Elizabeth turned to look at Clara.

"No. I was just muttering to myself about all these dishes."

The younger woman set three glasses into the sink basin. "There's just a few people left out there. Thanks for helping tonight, Elizabeth. Things have been busy this week and I've been doing that extra sewing for Dottie and Rosemary."

"He's not there," a puzzled Abigail announced as she came back downstairs. "Where would he go? And why didn't he just go out the door?"

"Maybe because he knew you'd tell him to get back upstairs and do his homework," Elizabeth noted.

"Or you would," Clara told Elizabeth with a smile. "It's hard to get away with things when there's a teacher standing in your kitchen. Can I get the coins, Abigail?"

"You called, Mrs. Thornton?" Jack announced with a flourish as he appeared next to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth involuntary jumped at the sound of his voice.

 _Will I ever get used to him popping in and out?!_

Abigail handed the change to Clara. "I'll get Cody to do his homework the moment he comes back," she assured Elizabeth.

"Do you think you'd like _someone_ to go look for him?"

Elizabeth enunciated every word hoping that Jack would understand why she had called for him.

"No, I'm sure he's fine," Abigail said after a brief pause. Earlier in the week, Cody had been complaining that she didn't treat him like a young man - as he had begun to think of himself. The last thing he needed was for her to get overly concerned.

"Has Cody ever climbed out his window and jumped off the porch roof and snuck away from home when he's supposed to be upstairs doing his homework and studying for tomorrow's vocabulary test?"

 _Okay, that should have given Jack enough information to go on._

"Got it," Jack smiled at Elizabeth. "From that run-on sentence of yours, I've deduced that Cody took off and you want me to find him. No problem."

Elizabeth gave Jack a subtle but comical look that he was criticizing her grammar, and then a slight appreciative nod.

"You know Cody. He has a bit of a wild side to him," Abigail admitted in response to Elizabeth's question.

"How long has he been gone?" Jack asked.

"How long has he been gone?" Elizabeth, unable to answer Jack directly, repeated his question.

Abigail gave her a puzzled and somewhat critical look. "You're the one who noticed him leaving. How long do _YOU_ think he's been gone?"

"Right. Right. I was just thinking aloud to . . . um . . to get my thoughts together and think it through. I'd say he's been gone less than five minutes."

"Any idea where he would have gone?" Jack asked.

"Did Cody say anything to you about wanting to go somewhere? Maybe a friend's house?"

Abigail shook her head at Elizabeth's question. "He was pretty quiet all afternoon. I think he was so upset about being afraid of the water. He wouldn't even put his head under and practice floating. I think he was embarrassed."

"I'll be back as soon as I find him." Jack disappeared, leaving Elizabeth wondering how, even as a ghost, he could still make her feel more alive than any man she knew.

"I'm sure he's fine, Abigail. He's probably tossing a ball against a building somewhere. It's not even dark outside yet," Clara noted.

Abigail looked out the window and then at the clock on the wall. "You're probably right. I'll wait another ten minutes. If he's not back then, I'll go look for him."

Without another worry, she turned her attention back to dinner orders, leaving Elizabeth to hope Jack could find Cody before the boy did something stupid.


	28. Chapter 28 - The places we go

**CHAPTER 28 – THE PLACES WE GO**

The large hand on the clock had moved past only three short lines when Jack appeared in the kitchen after Elizabeth had sent him to go look for Cody Stanton.

"He's at the pond," the ghost Mountie told Elizabeth when he suddenly showed up at her side less than four minutes after he had left.

A startled Elizabeth narrowly missed dropping the dish in her hand but quickly recovered from Jack's abrupt appearance.

"The pond?"

"What about it?" Abigail, upon hearing Elizabeth, lifted her head from glancing at the silverware she was sorting.

"I think Cody went to the pond," Elizabeth said as she forced herself to sound pensive.

"I told you he's afraid of the water. That's the last place he'd want to go after today," Abigail said dismissively. "Clara's right. He's probably just throwing a ball. I'll make sure he does his homework."

Jack shook his head at Abigail's words.

"I heard him muttering to himself that he could do it. Swim. He was berating himself for being scared earlier," Jack declared. "He standing on the bank looking at the water."

"Do you think he's gone to try to swim?" a worried Elizabeth asked.

"Gone to swim? Why would you say that?" Abigail asked with a puzzled expression.

Jack knew Elizabeth's question was meant for him. "It's possible. He's not dressed for it, but I suppose if he gets up the courage he might. I'm not sure."

"Maybe it's Elizabeth's motherly intuition telling her Cody's swimming?" Clara offered with a teasing smile. "Or her teacher's intuition."

Clara, who was neither a mother nor a teacher, found the idea of Elizabeth having the ability to deduce what her students might be doing to be fanciful and highly unlikely.

"I just think that maybe he sneaked out to try to practice. Maybe in private so he wouldn't look foolish in front of other people," Elizabeth offered with a shrug.

Abigail put the last of the forks in the drawer and closed it. "I don't think so. You're sweet to be concerned, but I'm sure he's fine."

Elizabeth looked at Jack and ever so slightly moved her head. Encouraging him with her eyes and facial expression to go check on Cody.

"I'll be back," he announced when he quickly understood what she wanted from him.

And then he _poofed_ into nothingness.

* * *

Elizabeth was pacing the kitchen floor when Jack returned two minutes later.

"He took off his clothes. Except his underwear and tee-shirt. He's not in the water yet and to be honest, I don't think he's going to get the courage to go in," Jack announced.

"I think we should go to the pond to look for him," Elizabeth declared.

"I'll go back now," Jack announced just before he disappeared from the room.

Abigail gave Elizabeth a frown. "Elizabeth, I don't know what's gotten into you, but Cody has not gone to the pond to practice swimming. Look," she instructed as she pointed to a side window. "His swimming suit is still on the line."

"I'm going to go look anyway."

"Whatever for? He's fine."

"I just think I should."

"Take someone with you" Abigail called out to Elizabeth who had already started to rush out of the kitchen. "And I have no idea why you think he's there. I can assure you that it's the last place he'd be."

"I'll be back in a bit."

"Take someone with you!" Abigail again called out.

* * *

Elizabeth didn't think she'd need anyone to go with her. Jack would be available to keep her from any potential dangers . . .

. . . except the more she thought about it, it wasn't really as if he could fight off any wild animals . . . or drunken lumberjacks.

As she passed Bo Grady sitting at a small round table for two, Elizabeth stopped impulsively.

"Bo, would you like to go for a walk?"

Bo Grady had been one of Elizabeth's students when she had first moved to Hope Valley, then still called Coal Valley. She hadn't seen him in years – ever since he had moved away at the end of the school year five years ago.

The eighteen-year old young man looked startled at her request and then looked to the pretty young lady sitting across from him who had stopped talking in mid-sentence when Elizabeth had interrupted them.

"A walk, Miss Thatcher? I mean Mrs. Thornton."

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I thought I'd take a walk to the pond. I could use the company. Join me? We can catch up on what you've been up to."

The young man hesitated. The empty plate in front of him was evidence that he had already finished his meal, and he didn't want to be rude to his former teacher despite wondering why she couldn't see that he was trying to woo the girl in the green dress at his table. It wasn't exactly a date – he had simply joined Katie Yost when he had seen her sitting there, but he would certainly like it to lead to a date.

Bo was actually surprised that Elizabeth had recognized him at the Café. He had left Coal Valley as a young thirteen-year old – still chubby and awkward, but now he was a good twelve inches taller, muscular, and sporting facial scruff. He remembered that she had always taken a special interest in him and his "word blindness".

"Um, okay, I guess," he finally said when a friendly Katie urged him to accept Elizabeth's offer.

* * *

As they moved through the grass outside of town, Elizabeth tried to keep up a steady conversation. She walked hurriedly while trying to pretend it was anything but a potential rescue attempt.

Elizabeth wondered if all Royal Life Saver's felt this anxious when they were on duty. She automatically reached for the chain with the whistle she had been wearing around her neck earlier, and then remembered she had taken it off at the end of swim lessons. _Oh well, it's not as if I need it. I can just order Bo to get in the water and save Cody_.

" . . . . as I said I'm working at an architect firm. Nothing important yet. Just delivering papers and handling measurements. But I hope it leads to something," Bo continued as they neared the pond.

"I always knew you were intelligent and had an analytical mind."

"Thank you."

"Anyone special in your life?" Elizabeth asked when she realized that she had run out of other questions.

"Um, no, ma'am. Not yet," a somewhat ill-at-ease Bo replied. He had half expected his former teacher to ask him to spell something, not about his love life.

"Oooh," Elizabeth exclaimed quickly when Rip appeared next to her and bumped her leg.

She faltered slightly and grabbed hold of one of Bo's upper arm to steady herself.

"Sorry, I must have stepped in a ditch. You don't mind if I hold onto you, do you? The ground's kind of soft in places," she noted as Rip – invisible to Bo but easily seen by herself - now began sniffing at her clothes while she tried to walk. He pushed his canine nose against her fabric as if wanting to inhale her skirt.

Without waiting for a response or noticing the uneasy look on Bo's face, Elizabeth kept her fingers wrapped around the young man's triceps muscle.

 _Darn dog is going to knock me over if I'm not careful, s_ he thought as she also remembered that she had spilled some chicken juices on her skirt earlier in the Café. Rip might be dead but he apparently still had a basset hound's nose.

"You certainly have grown a lot in the last five years," she mentioned casually to Bo when she realized that her fingers didn't quite make it all the way around his muscle. _Oh well, at least it will keep me steady._

* * *

 _Where the heck is he?_ Elizabeth wondered as she scanned the area around the pond – and then the water itself and saw that she and Bo were all alone.

 _Cody must have moved on. Jack wouldn't have left Cody here alone. I'll just wait here until he comes back._

"Ma'am, are you ready to go back to town?" Bo asked somewhat impatiently.

The past fifteen minutes were totally perplexing - and unsettling - to him. He didn't want to think about why Mrs. Thornton was clinging to his arm, asking if he was courting anyone, complimenting his intelligence, and wanting to take a walk to the isolated pond with him.

He had heard that widows could be lonely and want to move on, but this was absurd. She was far too old for him.

"Let's walk all the way around," Elizabeth said.

Without waiting for a reply, she kept hold of Bo's arm. "It's such a beautiful place."

"Um, yeah, I guess. But shouldn't we get back to town?"

Elizabeth ignored his question and instead found herself thinking of Jack. How earlier in the day, he had been teasing her here. And then her mind replayed in reverse order other memories with Jack at the pond until she found herself gazing thoughtfully at the water.

 _The first time we shared sandwiches in the rowboat. When we were still so shy and nervous around each other. I fell into his arms . . . .and into his life forever._

"It's so romantic here", she said quietly. More to herself than to Bo. In fact, she had almost forgotten that her former student was with her.

"Romantic?" Bo squeaked out.

* * *

Elizabeth was gazing onto the water and telling a frazzled Bo how much she loved beautiful sunsets over a pond when Jack reappeared.

"Cody's at the old climbing tree near Janson's orchard. I don't think he'll climb too high, but it's still not that safe. He gave up on trying to swim and he's being pretty hard on himself."

Jack bent down and pet Rip while he waited for Elizabeth to respond to his announcement as to where Cody had gone when he left the pond.

When she gave him a curious look which conveyed she didn't know the tree, Jack continued.

"The one kids used to carve their initials into. Hearts. Couples' initials. That kind of stuff. They called it the sweetheart tree. I can't believe I never took you there, now that I think about it. We should have our initials carved in it."

"Bo, do you remember a climbing tree that students used to carve their initials into?" Elizabeth asked eagerly. "The sweetheart tree?"

"Um, yes, ma'am. I know it."

"Let's go there!" Elizabeth said enthusiastically.

"You want me to take you to the sweetheart tree?!" Bo's voice cracked but Elizabeth didn't seem to notice.

* * *

Elizabeth ran her fingers on the letters made over the years undoubtedly by adolescents in love.

She imagined the boys – or young men- with their pocket knives pulled from their jackets or trousers – carving the initials or names into the tree truck as blushing young females stood close by, perhaps holding a flower or two they had been given. It was all so innocent and romantic.

She and Bo had walked to the far end of the Janson's orchard where a reluctant Bo had showed her the tree. Cody was no longer here and neither was Jack, but that hadn't stopped Elizabeth from gazing at the huge gnarled trunk as she waited for Jack to return.

She recognized a few names of her students over the years, and guessed at the initials interspersed. Some were high up, obviously made by older students or someone sitting on a branch. The cruder lettering was usually lower down- signifying it had been made by a shorter – and likely younger- couple in the throes of infatuation.

"I wish I could go back," she said longingly.

"Back?" Jack, who appeared suddenly, asked a split second before Bo asked the same question.

Elizabeth barely paid attention to Bo. Her answer was for Jack.

"To when things were young and romantic. Before things were sad and dramatic. When I used to think that things were complicated but really, they weren't," Elizabeth said wistfully as she almost forgot Bo was with her. "Things were simple and love was . . . well, it was still exciting and heart-pounding without the overwhelming pain."

"Mrs. Thornton, you taught me how to _read_. At my house. After school. When you saw all the models I had made in my bedroom," Bo forcefully reminded her. "I was your _student_."

"Yes, yes," a distracted Elizabeth replied to him, but she looked at Jack who was meant for her next words.

"If only we could go back a few years and do things all over again. Faster. And not let any differences keep us apart."

"I was your STUDENT!" a shocked Bo reiterated.

"I wish we could go back," Elizabeth repeated softly when Jack put his hand tenderly on her cheek. "To where we were years ago."

"Back to my _BEDROOM_?!" a bewildered and repulsed Bo erupted.

 **Dear Reader: Thanks for your continued reviews!**


	29. Chapter 29 - A building of significance

**CHAPTER 29 – A BUILDING OF SIGNIFICANCE**

At Bo's exclamation of his bedroom, Elizabeth swiveled her face out of Jack's palm and looked at the young man. She stared at him in confusion for a split second, having only half heard of what he was saying because she had been focused instead on the beauty of Jack's eyes.

"Bed? Yes, you're right. Of course, you'll need a place to sleep tonight," Elizabeth mentioned, although she didn't know why Bo was so concerned. The Saloon usually had a vacant room.

 _Maybe, he didn't make a reservation_ , she thought indifferently.

"I don't need a place to sleep tonight!" a stunned Bo responded.

The last thing he wanted to do was share a bed with his former teacher. Earlier in the evening when he had wanted to get lucky, Bo's thoughts had run more along the lines of holding hands with Katie Yost, who was only a year or two older than him. His thoughts definitely hadn't gone so far as to thinking of sharing a _bed_ with someone – especially the recently widowed Mrs. Thornton.

Bo wiped his sweaty hands on his denim pants and wondered in despair how he was going to get out of losing his virginity to the widow Thornton.

"Ma'am. I've never even been in love," he practically sobbed. "I just turned eighteen!"

"Eighteen? Yes, I know. That's certainly old enough to make your own arrangements. I'm just going to go look at the other side of the tree for a minute," Elizabeth explained with a smile as she quickly moved around the thick oak and out of his view.

"Arrangements?" Bo said in a quiet strangled voice.

* * *

"Why's Bo acting so strange?" Jack asked. "Odd kid."

Elizabeth gave a dismissive wave and whispered quietly near one of Jack's ears. "He probably thinks I'm going to give him a test or make him do some homework. And I think he forgot to get a room at the Saloon for tonight. Forget about him. Where's Cody?"

"He's at the school house."

"Why?" she hissed.

"He likes some girl and he was embarrassed that he couldn't swim in front of her. So, he came here to carve their initials into the tree. I guess he was going to bring her here tomorrow and show off by climbing high up. But then he saw her initials with some other boy's initials."

"What does that have to do with the school?"

"Actually, it's also a church –"

"You said school."

"Whatever. It's the same building. He's gone to pray for courage to swim and forgiveness for all the times he teased other kids."

"That would take a lot of praying," Elizabeth noted softly as she remembered how he had teased other kids for things such as wearing glasses, being short, and being bad at baseball. "Do you think he's alright there?"

"He's fine as long as he doesn't light a candle. You know what happened the last time Cody had a candle in the building. We don't need another fire. I think I singed an eyebrow when I was saving Opal."

Elizabeth's mouth curved in a smile. "You did not singe an eyebrow. But, you have a good point. We don't want him there alone and maybe playing with matches. I should go convince him to go home."

"Mrs. Thornton. I think it's getting dark enough that we should hurry back," Bo called to Elizabeth from where he had walked ten feet away.

Elizabeth came around the tree trunk and smiled. "You're right. Let's just stop by the school house on the way back to town."

"The schoolhouse? This late? Why?"

"I think Cody might be there."

"You thought he might be at the pond and then here at the tree," a doubtful Bo said with a hint of accusation in his voice.

"And now I think he's at the school. Let's go."

Despite the fact that he already had earned his high school degree, Bo suddenly felt like he was back in school and unable to refuse his strong-minded teacher's instruction.

* * *

"He's not here," Bo announced. The two were standing on the steps of the small white building that Jack had been in charge of building a few years earlier.

There was no sign of either Cody or Jack.

While the duo of teacher and former student had been making their way to the schoolhouse, Cody had quickly moved on to his next spontaneous destination– thankfully leaving the school still standing and un-scorched.

Jack, grateful that the building named in his honor was not ablaze, had vanished into the air to find the wayward boy.

"You never got to attend school here," Elizabeth remarked pleasantly as she and

Bo looked inside the open door.

The large room was empty of any humans but was filled with evidence of their usual daily attendance. "We were still holding classes in the Saloon when you were my student. Why don't we go inside and you can see it?"

"Ma'am –" Bo called out, but Elizabeth had already moved inside to proudly show off the school that an adoring Jack had built for her.

* * *

" . . . . and it works out wonderfully as both the church and the school. We've had a couple weddings here, and recitals, and church services obviously," Elizabeth continued as she came to the front of the classroom after showing the small space to Bo. "We used it as a make-shift hospital after a flood. I even had a proposal of marriage here," she added with a disbelieving shake of her head.

"Mountie Jack proposed in here?"

"No, he proposed _outside_ the building. I've had two proposals. One _inside_ and one _outside_. I obviously chose the man who proposed outside. It was the much much better option," she chuckled and then took a final look at the room. "Well, you've seen the place. Are you ready to go outside?"

"Outside?" Bo croaked.

He dragged his feet but nonetheless followed the determined Elizabeth outside.

* * *

The pair were only five feet from the building when Rip, still fascinated with the chicken juices on Elizabeth's skirt, appeared a few inches from her.

 _Rip, move. You're in the way_ , Elizabeth thought in mild frustration at the animal. She lifted her foot and tried to surreptitiously nudge the dog out of her way.

Oomph.

Elizabeth's foot brought down Bo.

 _Darn, forgot that Rip is more mist than solidity_ , Elizabeth thought when her boot had gone straight through the canine and had instead made contact with Bo's leg.

She looked at Bo who had fallen onto one knee and had the most peculiar expression on his face.

He looked like he was about to be ill.

 _Goodness, he's a sensitive boy. It was just a little fall. He barely got his knee dirty._

Elizabeth reached out her hand. "Bo – are you okay?"

"Fine, ma'am", he replied with the still stricken look on his face. He reluctantly took her outstretched hand into his.

"We should get back to town. I'm guessing Cody is okay. If not, I'll get Abigail and Bill to look for him. It's almost bedtime."

The word 'bedtime' caused a bead of sweat to form on Bo's forehead. As it rolled down the side of his cheek, he wondered what he had done wrong to find himself in this predicament.

To be honest, he wasn't sure he was actually that desirable of an eligible bachelor, but obviously the widow Thornton did.

Because here he was.

Outside the town's church. On one knee. Holding the soft hand of a desperate widow as she expectantly looked down at him.

It was obvious to him that the town's teacher didn't think that two proposals hadn't been enough for her. The impatient woman had wanted him outside – the preferred location – and on his knee for a hurried proposal before dragging him to bed in her rowhouse. So much so, that she had kicked him in the shin and tripped him.

All he could think was that everything had started so innocently with his word-blindness. It seemed totally irrelevant at the moment except it reminded him that the former Miss Thatcher had always been an energetic enthusiastic teacher. Determination was likely her middle name.

"You're expecting a child, aren't you?" Bo asked suddenly when an idea came to him as he stood up.

"I am."

A desperate Bo wondered if he could outrun her.

* * *

"What happened to Bo?"

Jack questioned Elizabeth as he appeared next to her and matched her pace. Or rather, he tried to match her stomping as she angrily made her way to town.

"He took off," she replied curtly.

"And left you to walk back by yourself? I know you're capable, but that's kind of rude of him. What was his hurry?"

"Apparently, he wasn't ready to commit to me."

Jack sensed an odd tone of disgust in her statement.

Elizabeth didn't stop walking but moved forward with narrowed eyes and her mouth set in a hard line.

"Commit to you? What'd you ask him to do?"

"I didn't ask him to do anything!"

"Then why'd he take off and leave you here to walk back by yourself?"

Elizabeth stopped walking with a huff.

"He thought I was trying to seduce him! I've never been so embarrassed in my life!"

Jack laughed. "You must be mistaken."

"No, I'm not. He thought I was infatuated with him."

"Infatuated with him? With _him_?"

"Yes, with _him_."

"For heaven's sakes, why?"

"He thinks that I'm some sort of hopeless widow who can't be alone after having been married for a few short weeks. He actually suggested that maybe I need a bed warmer. Or a dog. Or some good books to keep me company in bed."

"What in the world did you do to him?" Jack asked curiously. He found the idea that Elizabeth would be attracted to Bo to be so far-fetched that it actually intrigued him.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You must have done something."

"He's delusional," she retorted in irritation.

"Well, you don't need a bed warmer or a dog or good books to keep you warm at night. You've got me."

Jack moved his arm around Elizabeth's growing waist and gave her kiss on the cheek.

"He told me that he has a spinster aunt who knits to keep busy at night, and he can ask her to send me some knitting patterns," she mumbled. "And then he ran away. . . . I think he was going to vomit from nerves. Or wet himself."

* * *

Elizabeth finished locking up for the night, and made her way upstairs. When she had gotten back to town, she had stopped by the Café, where she found Cody sitting at a table working on his homework. She'd deal with him tomorrow.

"How's my favorite life saver?"

Jack was sitting up on the mattress, with his back leaning against a pillow. Next to him, propped on some additional pillows, was a book. He was getting better at turning pages with his fingers but he still had to occasionally blow on them to get the thin papers to flip over. Elizabeth was the only thing he was one hundred percent sure of touching.

"I'm exhausted," she replied.

"Come join me."

Elizabeth pulled back the sheet and crawled in next to him.

She let out a tired sigh. "Jack, I know that we still have months until you look for another body, but will you do me a favor?"

"Sure. Anything."

"Promise me that you won't choose anyone eighteen or younger. I can't handle the humiliation."

Jack chuckled. "I promise. No one eighteen or younger. And brown hair. Got it. This is good," he added with a mock attempt at seriousness. "Our criteria are getting more and more specific. It will make it easier for you to find me."

"Okay, let's be honest with each other," Elizabeth replied dryly. "Over eighteen and brown hair is not exactly narrowing the field by a large percentage."

"Hey, we've got time. We'll work on narrowing the criteria a little bit each month until after the baby comes. Then by the time I'm ready to go searching, we'll have this down to a science. It will be a piece of cake."

She lay her head onto her feather-filled pillow. It had been a long day of swimming lessons, working at the Café, and then unnecessarily searching for Cody.

"I love you," she said wearily.

"I love you too."

Jack's fingers slipped twice before he managed to close the book which he had been reading. He lay on the mattress. Resting on his side so he faced her. "Just out of curiosity, are you planning on attacking me tonight?" he asked casually.

"Attack you?! When did I ever need to attack you?" Elizabeth scoffed.

"I've seen that gleam in your eye," Jack noted. "You desperate widowed women are all alike."

"Hush. Stop teasing me."

"Your turn to do me a favor. Can you put my book on the floor for me? It keeps slipping when I try to pick it up."

Elizabeth sat up and lifted the book into her hands.

"You're feeling weak too, aren't you?" she asked with concern as she turned her back to Jack and put the novel on her nightstand. She remembered that while she had been walking around town, Jack had been using his strength to move through space.

"Nope. Just saving my energy for other things."

Before she could ask what he meant, Elizabeth felt Jack's hands gently move her hair off of her neck.

And then his soft lips were touching her skin. Gently. Slowly.

Moving along her collarbone as he pushed aside the silk garment she was wearing.

She kept her back towards him and simply enjoyed the touch. The feeling of love. The feeling of lust. The anticipation of what would come next.

When his hand touched her thigh, his shimmering and warmth moved through the thin fabric of her nightgown.

Elizabeth realized she wasn't nearly as exhausted as she had thought.

 **UP NEXT: Chapter 30**


	30. Chapter 30 - Almost like drowning

**Dear Susie Thornton, This one's for you.** 😊 **And I thought it was adorable that you accidentally wrote "Erin" instead of Elizabeth. I wish D and E were a real couple.**

 **CHAPTER 30 -ALMOST LIKE DROWNING**

"How's our little swimmer today?" Elizabeth asked with a smile when Opal, two steps ahead of her mother, bounded down the mercantile steps with a lollipop in her hands and almost bumped into her.

"I'm great! I'm going swimming again when my Pa gets off work!"

"She really took to the water," Elizabeth noted to Opal's mother.

It was a week after the swim lesson, and the little girl showed no signs of getting tired of swimming in the pond.

"I'm surprised because usually she's a bit timid with trying new things," Elizabeth added as she smiled at Mrs. Weise. "I guess her pretending to be a mermaid did the trick. It was a good idea you had."

"It was Mountie Jack's idea," Opal volunteered, but then quickly slapped her hand over her mouth. She turned to look up at her mother. "I'm sorry," she said earnestly. "It just came out!"

Mrs. Weise seemed embarrassed and gave Elizabeth an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Thornton. I asked her not to tell you any tall tales, but she honestly believes it."

Elizabeth bent down to Opal's level and looked the girl in the eyes. "Opal, sweetie, why do you think that Mountie Jack told you to pretend to be a mermaid?"

Opal shrugged her tiny shoulders. "Because he did."

"But Opal, Mountie Jack died months ago and we weren't even talking about swim lessons then," a mildly perplexed Elizabeth noted. "Why would he talk to you about swimming?"

"It wasn't before he died, Mrs. Thornton. It was _after_ he died."

"After he died?" Elizabeth's pulse quickened.

"He must have known I was scared of the water and he told me that I didn't have to be. He said my long hair was like a mermaid's and it would help me swim. I just had to remember to move my arms and legs and breath calmly. He told me I could do it. And he was right!"

"I don't understand" Elizabeth's voice faltered as she looked up at Opal's mother.

The older woman shrugged. "She wasn't nervous at all when we got to the lake that morning. In fact, she was eager to jump right in and take the lessons," her mother offered helplessly. "She's just a little confused about what gave her the courage. She insisted to me that it was Mountie Jack even after I told her that it wasn't nice to lie."

"I wasn't lying mama!" Opal piped up. "I wasn't!"

Elizabeth spoke directly to Opal. "Tell me the truth, sweetie. I won't get upset. Did you really talk to Mountie Jack?"

The little girl thought for a moment and then shook her head no.

Elizabeth started to breathe easy but then Opal spoke up.

"I didn't talk to HIM. He talked to ME," she said proudly. The last thing she wanted to do was lie and it was important that she was accurate in her facts.

"He talked to you?"

This time Opal nodded yes.

"When? When did you talk to him?" Elizabeth stayed at the girl's level and looked her in the eyes.

"Opal, why don't you run ahead to the lumbar office and see if your Pa is finished talking to Mr. Coulter? I'll catch up." Mrs. Weise interjected before Opal could answer Elizabeth's question.

When the woman also gave Opal a little nudge, the girl skipped away.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Thornton. I hope she didn't upset you," Opal's mother began tenderly. "She wasn't trying to. She's just so young and naive."

"I don't understand," Elizabeth repeated. "Why did she say Jack talked to her?"

Mrs. Weise's face revealed her pity for the widow Thornton as she spoke. "Every night when Opal says her bedtime prayers, she says a special thank you to your husband. Because he saved her life in the church fire. She never forgets him. Not once. Every night, she mentions him and how he saved her and she wants to make him proud. I think she had a crush on him even before that, and then when he saved her life, her innocent crush turned into undying worship and gratitude. She thinks he was the bravest man ever to live."

"That's sweet but what does that have to do with him talking to her about swimming?"

 _What has Jack been up to now?_ Elizabeth thought worriedly while she waited for the woman to answer her question.

"Opal was so worried about swimming lessons, and then all of a sudden, she woke up on the morning of lessons and said your husband told her that silly nonsense about being a mermaid, and that she didn't need to be scared any more. I made her promise not to tell you. I didn't want you to get upset. I tried to explain to her that it was just a dream, but she was insistent that she heard him speaking into her ears while she was asleep.

Elizabeth was momentarily stunned silent. _He must have talked to her when he was doing his nightly rounds. And she heard him!_

"You know children," Mrs. Weise explained further. "And Opal's not one to lie on purpose. She just has such a vivid imagination. And she's so innocent. She was just dreaming but it must have seemed very real to her. I'm so sorry, Mrs. Thornton. I can see it's upset you."

* * *

"That's incredible! She really heard me," Jack exclaimed when Elizabeth got home and told him about her encounter. "Don't you see what this means?"

"That you've been reading too many Hans Christen Anderson fairy tales?" Elizabeth shook her head in amusement. "Mermaids."

"Forget the mermaids! It means that you're not the only human that can hear me. Someone else can hear me! I knew she was nervous about the swim lessons so when I was checking in on the families in town on my nightly rounds, I told her not to worry. That she could swim because she was a secret mermaid. And she heard me!"

"Only in her sleep," Elizabeth, always the teacher and concerned about precise statements, clarified.

Jack continued undeterred. "I know the ladies couldn't. Not even my mom or Rosemary or Abigail, but Opal could! In her sleep, she could hear me!"

"Because she's young and innocent and adored you. It's just like what Hazel and Stan said about her two-year old niece being able to hear and see him."

Jack paced around the room in a burst of energy, talking aloud as the thoughts ran through his head. "Opal's too old to see me or hear me when she's awake. Sensing someone in your sleep must be the last sense people lose as they grow up–"

"I'm grown up and I can see you and hear you," Elizabeth reminded him as she took some dinner out of the ice box and sniffed it to see if it was still edible.

"You love me. And we made vows. We have unconditional forever love. That's why you can see me and hear me and feel me," Jack replied dismissively.

"I'd like to lose my sense of smell. This fish from last night has gone bad," Elizabeth declared as headed out the back door with the dinner plate.

"Get back in here! This is important" Jack yelled after her.

* * *

Three seconds later, Elizabeth came back inside and put the emptied plate in the basin she used for washing dishes. She leaned against the counter and looked at him expectantly.

"Tell me what's so important. Why are you so excited that Opal can hear you in her sleep? Do you enjoy making up tall tales to tell young people?" she asked humorously. "Because if you want to tell them something, you could tell them to study for their tests. Half of them did atrocious on the last history exam."

"Sometimes -" he paused and a shadow of sadness crossed his face. "Sometimes I feel like . . . like . . . .like I'm almost drowning in my life," he tried to explain. "Like I'm underwater and no one but you can hear me, or see me, or feel me. I walk around this town listening to conversations that I can't take part in. The world is passing me by. People are moving on and doing things. I'm being forgotten."

"You're not being forgotten!"

"I will be. Over time."

"You will NEVER be forgotten!" she forcefully told him.

"Then I'll just be a nice memory. New people will move to town and know nothing about me except a few stories they may hear. Stories about the widow Thornton's Mountie husband. Or about how the school is named after me. I want more!"

"You will have more. When you get a body. We just have to wait. I don't want you leaving me to find one now. You know that."

"That's why I'm so excited that Opal heard me! Because it proves to me that the young and innocent have the ability. I'm guessing - based on this and what Hazel and Stan told us – that the younger someone is, the more they can sense us. They start off with all the senses – to see, hear, and feel us. Over time, as people grown up, they lose the ability to sense ghosts."

"And hearing is the last sense they lose?"

"Exactly! But our baby will be young and feel my love for him. And he – or she – will love me. That means our baby should be able to know me! All of me! Just like I'm normal. Our baby will be able to hear me, and see me, and feel me even if the rest of the town can't!"

"I've told you that," Elizabeth said with a smile. "I've never doubted it. Our baby is part of you and me. Of our love."

"So . . . . I'll have some time to find a body," Jack reassured himself quietly as he thought about the situation. "I can spend time with our baby and take my time finding a body."

"You'll have time," Elizabeth agreed.

The couple smiled at each other. Everything was going to work out.

Everything was going to work out as long as Jack remained patient and didn't try to find a body before the baby came. He just had to be patient.

If Elizabeth had paused to think about it she would have realized that was the problem. Ever since his tour in the Northern Territories, Jack had been inpatient. He knew how quickly things could change. How quickly lives could be altered.

He had lost his patience long before he lost his life. His quickly planned wedding to Elizabeth had been evidence of that.

Yes, everything would work out as long as Jack remained patient.

But as we all know, time and patience don't always go together.

 **Up next: Chapter 31 Cat Scratch Fever**


	31. Chapter 31 - cat scratch fever

**CHAPTER 31 – CAT SCRATCH FEVER**

Over the next weeks as the season changed and Elizabeth's belly grew, Jack's enthusiasm for the birth of his first child also grew.

In fact, the whole town seemed to be invested in the birth in some way or another whether it be supplying the crib, making sure Elizabeth had a home which was warm and cozy, or the students making drawings of their school teacher with a fat belly

Although Jack's passing had left the town temporarily distraught, time moved on. Sadness over Jack's passing had turned to the reality of the life with work schedules and weather affecting crops, and people moving to and from Hope Valley. With each passing day, Elizabeth's pregnancy became more real and Jack's death faded from the minds of the towns people.

"What are you thinking?" Elizabeth glanced at Jack who was in bed, leaning up against some bed pillows and watching her get dressed.

"I'm wondering where I should be when you go into labor?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you were giving birth in the city, we'd be at a hospital and I'd be in the waiting room. But here, you'll most likely give birth at home. Which means I would probably wait out on the front porch. But it's going to be cold so no one else will be there," he said with a dismissive frown. "So I could go to the saloon and pace around there. At least there'll be other people there to keep my mind off of it. And then I can just pop back here every so often and check on you."

"You had better not pop back here when I'm in the middle of screaming and grunting and looking disgusting," she warned him.

"It won't be that bad," Jack said encouragingly.

A disagreeable huff escaped Elizabeth. "Remember Mrs. Noonan our first year in town?"

"That was twins. You're not having twins."

"Still, I don't want you seeing me when I'm a mess."

"What if you need me?"

"Wait until you hear me call for you. I'll say something like 'I wish Jack was here' that way it won't look suspicious to anyone. They'll think I'm just being sentimental."

"Sounds good." Jack readily agreed. "I'm pretty good at hearing your voice wherever I am."

He looked out the window. "Bundle up. It's windy out there today."

"Speaking of being sentimental, what mood am I supposed to be today?" Elizabeth sat on the edge of the mattress and unrolled a pair of socks as she got ready for work.

"Didn't you write it down?"

"I keep forgetting."

Since Jack's return to her, albeit in ghost form, Jack and Elizabeth had been happy, romantic, and nervous – the usual moods for a couple in love and expecting a baby. At times, there was still the expected tinge of sadness that Jack didn't have all his molecules as Elizabeth called it, but that was overpowered by their love and excitement of expecting a baby.

At least those were their moods when it was just the two of them. To the citizens of Hope Valley, it was a bit more complicated.

When Elizabeth allowed people to see her being happy, she discovered that gossipy ladies whispered about whether she had ever really loved Jack and how quickly she had gotten over him. Then they wondered if her family was pleased that she was a widow because now she could marry a more prominent member of society.

In an effort to avoid the unkind and totally wrong speculation that Jack had just been a minor infatuation for her, Elizabeth had taken to acting sad.

But when she had acted sad, Abigail would rush to her side, tell her that she understood her pain, and that things would get better. Then she would hug her best friend, hand her a handkerchief, and cry a little with her. Of course, several of the town ladies would talk amongst themselves about how Elizabeth needed to buck it up and get over it. Life moved on. At least she had a baby on the way, they would say.

Too happy. Too sad. Not happy enough. Not sad enough. Show your emotions. Buck it up.

And so, Jack and Elizabeth had devised a plan to keep track of her "moods" and ensure that she didn't draw too much unwanted attention to herself. They simply alternated her apparent emotions so that she seemed neither perpetually happy nor perpetually sad.

Jack thought for a moment before answering.

"Act kind of melancholy today. You were in good spirits yesterday."

"How do you remember?" she asked as she pulled on a sock. "I can't even remember what I wore yesterday."

"Because when you were with Abigail, you felt the baby move. And you laughed and made a joke about me. She said, 'Jack would be so proud of how you are handling everything. He would be so proud of you, Elizabeth.'"

"And you wore the blue skirt with the white blouse," he added helpfully.

"Got it," Elizabeth announced as she stood up and moved across the floor to get her shoes. "Sad today. How's this?"

Jack chuckled at her exaggerated pout. "A bit much. But I love you."

"What are you going to do today."

"I'm going to go to the Northside of the valley I'll walk you to school and then head over in that direction. I think Bill's been neglecting that area."

"I told him about bear with her cubs, and about Percy Simmons being drunk again. And that the creek's starting to freeze over."

Jack climbed out of bed. "Thanks. You ready to go down for breakfast?"

"Almost." Elizabeth finished lacing her shoes, affixed a comb into her hair, and took a final look in the mirror.

"You look beautiful."

"You say that every morning," she replied with a smile.

"That's because it's true every morning," he replied with a grin. "And every afternoon. I'll pick you up when school lets out."

Elizabeth giggled. "This time, we need to make sure the school house doors are closed when you kiss me."

* * *

"How was it today?" Jack asked hours later at the end of school day. He watched as the last of the students ran off into the distance.

Just like he had promised, he had showed up to walk Elizabeth home.

"They're excited for this baby. Polly said my stomach is growing so big, I look like I swallowed a pumpkin."

Jack scrutinized her belly. "It is getting pretty big," he teased.

It wasn't just the baby in Elizabeth's belly that was growing. Something inside Jack was growing. His fear about not being part of the baby's life after all.

Jack knew that animals could sense him and hear him. His horse still came when he whistled for the animal. Dogs stopped barking when he ordered them to be quiet. Bunny rabbits ran away when he walked through the woods. Startled deer stopped and stared at him before running off with their white tails flapping high in the air.

Jack had even learned to move small things like lightning bugs and spiders which were crawling too close for Elizabeth's comfort.

And he kept reminding himself that Opal had heard him once in her sleep. But Jack wanted more than to just be heard by a child.

Would his child be able to see him? To feel him? Would Jack be able to touch his own child? That was his biggest worry – that he wouldn't be able to hold his son or daughter. These are the things he thought about as he wandered the woods and fields while Elizabeth was in the schoolhouse.

"I don't want our baby to just be able to hear me. I want to pick him up, cuddle him. Help take care of him," he told Elizabeth as they slowed their walk towards home.

Elizabeth bundled up against the cold air, peeked into the basket in her arms and checked on the two squirming kittens before covering them again with the cloth napkin. The furry creatures were adorable but she had to wonder what she had been thinking when she agreed to a pleading student to take them before they were left to freeze outside.

"There you go again assuming it's going to be a boy," she said as she returned her attention to Jack.

Jack grinned sheepishly. "I can't help it. I think it's going to be a boy."

"You sure you're not a fortune teller?"

"Nope. Just a simple ghost."

"Well, ghost. Stop worrying. Our son or daughter will be able to feel you. I'm sure of it."

"How? How can you be sure?" he pestered. "You keep saying that, but we can't be sure."

"Because I can feel you and –" Elizabeth stopped talked abruptly.

"Hello, Mrs. Belgor." She nodded to the middle-aged woman who passed her going in the opposite direction.

"I heard you got conned into taking two of Simon's new kittens," the red-haired woman called out with a smile as she kept walking.

Elizabeth laughed. "They're the new teacher's pets."

"Why you think we need two kittens when we're expecting a baby in a month is beyond me," Jack noted as they kept walking.

* * *

Jack watched the kittens scamper on the kitchen floor while Elizabeth made herself a cup of tea. She had already given the small felines a saucer of milk which they had eagerly lapped up. They were now occupied with a long piece of yarn that they had unraveled from a shawl Elizabeth had left draped across the back of her chair.

"What are we going to call them?" he asked,

"White-tail and black-tail."

Jack humorously raised his eyebrows at her. "Quite the imagination you've got there. I just hope you come up with something a little less descriptive for our son."

"Jack Junior if it's a boy. Jacklyn if it's a girl. I told you that already."

"We'll see," Jack replied good-naturedly. He slowly reached down and tried to pick up one of the kittens but his hands when right through it.

 _Concentrate, Jack,_ he reminded himself.

 _No, don't concentrate. Just let it come naturally._

 _Naturally pick up a squirming ball of fur on your kitchen floor as it gets tangled in a shawl?_

 _Impossible._

 _Concentrate. PICK. UP. THE. KITTEN._

 _Darn._

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth sat down at the table and took a sip of tea.

"Practicing."

"Practicing what?"

"Being a dad."

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and gave him a side-ways look. _He's lost it._

"A dad? By swatting your hands through a kitten?"

"Yeah."

"It looks like you're cupping invisible water."

"I'm trying to pick up one of these things," he replied with mild exasperation.

"Why?"

"So I'll be able to pick up our baby."

Elizabeth took another sip of warm tea and smirked. "You do realize that I'm giving birth to one baby, not a litter of kittens."

"They're both tiny and delicate."

"If you try to pick up our baby by the scruff of the neck, I'm divorcing you."

Jack stifled a laugh. Undeterred, he reached to scoop up the kitten with the white tail, but it remained unfazed by his hands. "I want to practice on something young and innocent like our baby will be. I figure I should practice to make sure I can do it."

"There probably has to be some kind of love or affection for the feeling sense. The kittens don't love you. They love me. I'm the one that just gave them a saucer of milk."

An empty-handed Jack fell back on his hunches in defeat. "I won't even be able to do that."

"I would hope you don't expect our baby to drink out of a saucer."

"You know what I mean. You'll feed the baby. How am I going to feel a connection with our baby?"

Elizabeth sighed and smiled. "Men. They just don't listen. I've told you that the baby will know you. You sleep next to me – and my belly – every night. You talk to me every day so it hears your voice."

"Come here." She motioned to Jack to move closer and then took his hand and placed it on her round belly. "Now talk to him."

Jack gave her a curious look. "Talk to him?"

"Talk to him," she instructed with a smile and nodded towards her belly.

"Him? Not her?"

"Well it's a him or a her and you seem to think it's a him. So, talk to him. If it turns out it's a girl, we'll apologize to her for not knowing."

Jack smiled. "What do I say?"

* * *

Jack was fifteen minutes into a story about his own childhood and the first time he had ever gone fishing, when Elizabeth yawned from boredom and told Jack that was enough of talking to the baby for now.

"I'm just getting to the best part!" Jack protested.

"The best part?" she asked skeptically. "Of a boring fishing story? I'm not sure there is a best part."

"That's because you don't like to fish. But our son will."

"Or our daughter."

"Right. So, he or _she_ should hear my story."

"I'm hungry. Your story is making me think of eating a nice big fish."

"We don't have any. We'll have to go fishing again. And it's getting too cold for you to be outside for that long."

"Not if you do what you did last time, and get in the water and push them towards my line," she chuckled.

"Maybe this weekend," he suggested with a smile.

"Let me at least get up and make a sandwich or get an apple," Elizabeth told him as she moved away from his hands.

* * *

Elizabeth chewed on a bite of apple and tried not to choke with laughter as she looked at Jack whose hands were moving unobstructed through the kittens.

Even though he couldn't handle them, the small felines had no problem handling Jack. The white-tailed kitty had its nails dug into Jack's trousers as it tried to go after the kitten which had already scampered onto Jack's shoulder where it began batting his face with a soft paw.

"I can't touch them!" Jack cried out in bewilderment. "They have no trouble touching me but I can't touch them."

Elizabeth chuckled as the tabby-colored kitty with the unusual black tail now made its way to Jack's other shoulder.

"Big strong Mountie taken down by two kittens. You seem to have become their new playmate. Or scratching post."

"Are you going to stand there laughing or help me? They have sharp nails." Jack turned his head back and forth between the two creatures. Once again, he moved his hands and hopelessly tried to pick them up.

"Yoo hoo, Elizabeth? We knocked," the female voice came floating through the air. "What in the WORLD?!"

Elizabeth and Jack's eyes grew wide as a trio of women walked into the kitchen and stared at the scene in front of them.

Elizabeth's apple dropped from her hands and she quickly reached for the kittens. Yanking them off of Jack's shoulders, she ignored her husband's yelp of pain.

Her cheeks reddened and her pulse quickened as the three stunned visitors stood motionless in her kitchen.

"Were those kittens _floating_?" Abigail asked hesitantly. She was the first to find her voice as Rosemary and Faith stood frozen with their mouths agape.

"Floating? Ha Ha. That's so funny," Elizabeth replied nervously. "I . . um. . . .didn't hear you knock or come in."

"They were suspended in the air," Rosemary gasped when she finally was able to speak.

"No. No, they weren't," Elizabeth countered quickly. "They're right here. One in each of my hands. Right here. In my hands."

"But-" Faith began. "I – we-. We walked in and saw them . . .FLOATING!"

Elizabeth laughed shrilly. "They can't float. Don't forget gravity. It's the force that pulls things to the Earth. No floating here."

 _Damnit, these things are squirmy._ Elizabeth frantically tried to keep ahold of the kittens who were simultaneously trying to escape her grasp and get back to Jack.

"I don't know what to do!" a horrified Jack exclaimed when Elizabeth looked pleadingly to him. "They saw the kittens on me! Don't let them get on me again," he instructed as he moved a few feet back from the mewing creatures.

The three surprise house guests stared at Elizabeth. Perhaps waiting for her to explain how she had somehow managed to do the inhumanly possible act of turning off gravity. Or maybe they stared at her as if she was a witch. Either way, they were looking at her in a very unsettled way.

"The kittens were in the air", Abigail slowly repeated. She wiped her eyes to try and reverse the image of what she had seen.

"Say something!" Jack urged.

"I was juggling!" Elizabeth shouted out.

Jack grimaced and then looked to the heavens.

"Juggling?" a skeptical Rosemary asked.

Elizabeth anxiously nodded. _Why the heck did I say that?!_ "Yes. Juggling. That's why they looked like they were floating in the air."

"Dear Lord, this had better be good," Jack muttered.

Elizabeth gave him a quick dirty look.

"Couldn't you just say they had jumped down from the cabinet or something?" he asked with a disbelieving shake of his head.

"Juggling _kittens_? I've never heard of such a thing." Faith suspiciously remarked. She eyed one of the kittens curiously.

Elizabeth realized that it was too late for her to change her story; she had no choice but to go forward. However incredible it may be.

"Oh yes, it's a thing," she said earnestly.

"Isn't it . . . cruel?" Abigail suggested cautiously.

 _God, I hope not,_ Elizabeth thought. "No. Not at all. They like it."

"They like it? Being tossed in the air?" Faith questioned doubtfully. "How do you know?"

The unhappy kittens mewed loudly in Elizabeth's grasp. She held her arms stretched out to her sides as the creatures furiously fought to escape and crawl back up Jack's trousers.

"Look at them! They're so upset because I stopped juggling," she explained. "But I've done it enough for today. It's tiring. So they'll have to live with disappointment."

"But juggling requires _three_ things. You only have _two_ kittens," an unconvinced Rosemary remarked.

 _Oh, goody for her, she can count_ , Elizabeth grumbled.

"Yes, yes. You're right. I only have two, " Elizabeth nodded knowingly. "You see I was actually juggling two kittens . . . and um. . . .an apple!" she exclaimed when she saw the apple on the floor.

She felt herself start to sweat under their scrutiny but continued to nervously rattle on.

"I was juggling three apples, . . . . .and um . . . .I was hungry and I ate the other two," she finished hurriedly. _Where the heck am I going with this?!_

Abigail, Faith, and Rosemary blankly stared at her.

"I needed to practice my juggling, so I used the kittens. It worked out quite well. And . . . I . .. uh . . .I .. . .uh . . . I can take a bite of the apple when the kittens are in the air. That's what I was doing."

"I think she's gone crazy," Rosemary hissed to Abigail and Faith.

"Shhh," Faith whispered back.

"Do something!" Jack urged.

A frazzled Elizabeth, hoping she wouldn't injure the kitten but it would look like some sort of fancy juggling move, gently tossed it in a high arc towards the kitchen seat cushion, where it landed with a phumpf. Ignoring the wailing animal, she scooped the apple from the floor, and shoved it into her mouth. Taking a huge bite, she ignored the juice that dribbled down her chin. "Yum, delicious", she said eagerly.

"I didn't mean that!" Jack rolled his eyes. "You threw a kitten across the room! You're eating an apple off the floor!"

Elizabeth's three friends looked from the kitten who had tumbled onto the floor and then turned their attention to Elizabeth, who still had the other kitten in her hand and was trying to casually bounce it up and down while eating the apple with the other hand. "Yummmmm. Sooo good." She tried not to wince as the startled feline's claws dug into her skin in an effort to hold on. _Damn, these tiny claws hurt._

"Why did you need to practice juggling?" Abigail said warily.

"It's for the circus I'm planning. Didn't I tell you about that? -

Jack looked incredulous and he shook his head in defeat but he didn't interrupt her.

. . .It must have slipped my mind. I'm planning a circus for the students. I – ahhh," Elizabeth awkwardly stumbled backwards when an angry kitten bit into her thumb.

She would have fallen down but Jack jumped behind her and caught her by the back. He quickly righted her before removing his hands.

While she was grateful for Jack, her unusual motion of being able to lift herself up with just her stomach muscles only caused more concern by the women.

"Elizabeth?" Abigail questioned cautiously. "What are you doing? Why are you moving your body like that?"

"Uh oh," Jack remarked. He gave her a guilty shrug. "I couldn't let you fall."

" _HOW_ did you move your body like that?" Rosemary's face twisted in confusion. "You looked like you were doing the limbo. How is that even possible? You're front-side heavy."

"Strong back muscles," Elizabeth piped up. "From carrying textbooks. And riding horses." _What the hell am I saying?!_

"Do you have a twitch? Is it the baby?" Faith asked with professional concern.

"Are you in labor?!" Rosemary erupted. "If you're in labor, we need to get you into bed. Now. Let's move," she said as tried to move the women towards the staircase. "Everyone upstairs. Can you walk, Elizabeth? Can you manage the steps?"

"I'm not in labor," an irritated Elizabeth replied to Rosemary. "But yes, it was the baby. He's just in a weird position. By my ribs. But I'm fine. I find that if I just move my body about it moves the baby. Yes, I'm fine now. You're such a good nurse, Faith. That you could guess it was the baby just by looking at me. Amazing. Where did you get your schooling?" she asked intently in an effort to get the attention off of her.

"Where did she go to school? What kind of question is that?" Jack exclaimed as he threw up his hands. "Who cares where she went to school?! You've just told them you're juggling kittens while eating an apple and having a baby twitch. Do you think they are going to discuss higher education with you?"

Elizabeth ignored Jack's barb and made her way to the dry sink.

She spoke in a forced pleasant tone as she rolled up her sleeves and poured water from a pitcher into a large bowl. The soap stung the scratches left by the kittens on her hands and wrists. "Was there a reason that you ladies came by to visit?"

* * *

"That was dreadful," Elizabeth complained twenty minutes later.

Abigail had gone to the Café to prepare for the dinner crowd. Rosemary had gone home to make an overly elaborate meal for Lee, and Faith had left to go do whatever a nurse hopelessly infatuated with a clueless doctor does. All three women had been torn between staying with Elizabeth to make sure she wasn't having some sort of odd mental breakdown due to the stress of pregnancy or allowing her to live her own life. Eventually, they concluded that she wasn't in danger of doing anything rash, the kittens wouldn't be tossed about any more that evening, and Elizabeth wasn't in labor.

"It wasn't so bad. You think very quickly on your feet," Jack tried to keep from laughing but the corners of his mouth moved upwards.

Elizabeth snuggled closer against Jack's body, enjoying having him run his fingers through her hair. They were lying on the couch in the parlor as the setting sun came through the window and cast a faint golden glow onto the wooden floor.

"Of course, now you've added another list of things to do before we have the baby," he noted casually.

"What's that?" she asked with a yawn.

"You have to plan a school circus."

 **UP next: Chapter 32**

Dear Readers,

Jmlh – After I got your review, I went back and re-read my story too! OMG. I forgot how crazy my imagination can be at times. 😊

Michelle- Like you, I won't be watching the next season. The idea of a show without Jack is too depressing.

Susie and Joyce- You've each got a character named after you coming up in Out of this World!

To all my readers: Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	32. Chapter 32 - I found someone

**CHAPTER 32 – I FOUND SOMEONE**

"I found someone", Jack announced when he suddenly appeared in the row-house's small kitchen on the chilly winter afternoon a few days after the "kitten juggling incident." His faithful dog, Rip, appeared alongside him and immediately scattered the two tiny bundles of fur which had been sleeping on the floor in front of the warm oven door.

Elizabeth was so used to Jack popping in and out of thin air that she barely jostled the bowl in her arms as she stirred the batter. She moved the long wooden spoon in the cake mix as she glanced at him and then looked back at the cookbook to check the recipe.

It was her and Jack's nine-month anniversary. Even though he couldn't eat, she could. And she had a craving for something sweet. Besides, she liked celebrating every month of their marriage despite him being a ghost.

"Who was lost?" she absently asked while her eyes looked at the splattered page in front of her. _Add two eggs slowly. Stir some more._

"No. I FOUND someone!" he repeated slightly out of breath due to his excitement.

"Found someone doing what?" she asked and then blew upward to move a rebellious strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Found someone to take over!"

Elizabeth stopped stirring and stared at him with wide eyes.

"You found someone?" she gasped.

"Yep."

"This soon?"

"Yep." Jack nodded enthusiastically but Elizabeth didn't return his smile.

"I thought we were going to wait," she said anxiously. "Until after the baby."

"We are. I think. Now bear with me," he said. He put up the palm of his hand to stop her from protesting any further. "I found someone but it probably won't happen for a few more months. So it should work out."

"Won't happen for a few more months? Is he ill?"

"Sort of," Jack said hesitantly.

"Sort of? Either he is or he isn't" Elizabeth challenged.

"He's worn down. Not feeling well anymore. It's been a long time coming. He's not going to get better but there's really nothing wrong with his body. He's just tired of living."

Elizabeth frowned as she set the bowl on the nearby kitchen table. "That's kind of sad."

"No. No." Jack quickly reassured her. "It's not sad. He's just ready to move on."

"Will he give you his body?"

"I think so! If I'm there when he begins to pass, I don't see why he wouldn't offer it to me," an optimistic Jack replied.

"If his body's in good shape and he's willing to give it to you," Elizabeth began but then frowned again, "still, even if it's in a few months, it won't give you a lot of time after the baby comes to spend with us. I thought we'd wait until the baby's about six months old before you went looking."

"I know that's what we planned. But a body's a body. We need to seize the opportunity. It might be in two or three months. Or maybe even next month. I'm not sure yet."

"But I won't be able to travel much to find you if I've just had the baby," she reminded him.

She hadn't forgotten what the elderly Purdue couple had told her: when Jack found someone who was willing to give up his body, Jack would also inherit the other man's memory. It would take Elizabeth's dedication to get Jack to remember her and his own life. And since she needed to help Jack regain his memory, it was essential that she knew whose physical form he had taken.

"You won't have to!" Jack enthusiastically told her. "No traveling! He's in the area already! About five miles outside of town. That's all!"

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide again and lit up with her own excitement. "That close?!"

Jack smiled. "That close."

"This is fantastic!. Her mouth moved into a huge grin. "And he's nice? Because it will be much more realistic, not to mention easier, for me to be around his body if he's already a nice man."

"He's very nice," Jack nodded eagerly. "I promise. You'll have no trouble being around me in his body. And I'll get my memory back and we'll be together again. Like we're supposed to be!"

Elizabeth could barely control her eagerness as she thought about Jack having a body. She thought of all the things they would be able to do. Finally have a conversation in public without her looking like she was crazy. Holding hands as they walked through town. Jack being able to talk to his old friends.

"You'll be back to me. For real," she said in breathless awe.

Jack lovingly placed his hands on her upper arms and looked at her beautiful eyes. "I will."

"Who is it?!" she questioned excitedly.

Elizabeth mentally began going over the citizens of Hope Valley's extended area and it took her a few seconds until she realized that Jack hadn't immediately responded.

"Jack?"

"Um, yeah. Okay. You need to be open-minded. This is for our future."

'It's okay. I'm open-minded," she assured him. "I know he can't be as handsome as you. No one can," she smiled.

"Right," Jack said hesitantly but Elizabeth barely noticed the pause.

"And he might not be as educated as you, but that's okay, because that's just temporary. It will be your personality and memories and soul coming through to me over time," she happily reminded him.

"Right," Jack agreed with a small frown. He let go of her and shuffled his feet a bit. "He's not as educated. Although, he's no dummy. He's literate."

"And he might have as much couth as you, but again, it's just temporary. So, who is it?"

Jack no longer looked so eager to tell Elizabeth.

"Jack? Who is it?"

Jack inhaled a deep breath and let it out before answering. "Sven Cumberson."

"SVEN CUMBERSON? OLD MAN CUMBERSON?!" Elizabeth erupted.

"You promised to be open-minded," Jack reminded her when he saw her look of horror.

"HE'S GOT TO BE NINETY!"

"He's eighty-two but healthy," Jack countered.

"He's an OLD MAN! He's called _OLD MAN_ CUMBERSON FOR A REASON!"

"His body probably has another dozen years."

"If he's lucky." Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the idea of being married to Jack in an old man's body, picked up her bowl, poured the batter into a pan, and moved towards the oven. "You got my hope up for nothing."

"Now come on, Elizabeth, you have to at least consider it," he pleaded when he realized that she had lost interest in the conversation.

"No," she said simply. She closed the oven door with a sense of finality.

"It's a body. He's tired of living."

"Of course, he's tired of living," she scoffed. "He's an old man who's practically lived a century."

"He's only eight-two. That's years from a century, and you want us to be together, don't you?"

Elizabeth wiped her hands on her apron and began putting away the baking ingredients while she casually answered her husband. "We are together."

"But –" Jack spread his arms around the kitchen. "I can't help around the house. I can't even chop wood for the stove in this form."

"If you were Old man Cumberson, you wouldn't be able to either. You think that old man can chop wood?" she gave him a look of disdain.

"I would be able to do stuff. I promise," he replied in an effort to persuade her. "I'd exercise, lift weights. Get strong for you."

"In that old man's body? The only thing you'd get is more arthritis."

"Stop calling him old! He might be the new me."

"No."

"But I want it," he protested like a petulant child.

"Well you can't have it."

Elizabeth knew that Jack sometimes got restless without being able to interact with anyone but her, and she felt bad for him. But she had her standards.

"End of discussion," she told him. "Now why don't you see if you can pick up the kittens. You can try to get them from clawing our curtains."

"I don't want to pick up the kittens," he argued. "I want you to agree with me about taking Old man-, I mean Sven Cumberson's body."

An unpersuaded Elizabeth shook her head in response, and then moved to get the milk jug from the ice box.

"I want a body so I can be there for our child. For you!" Jack reminded her.

"Have you forgotten one of the reasons why you said you want a body?"

Jack gave her a sideways look. "What are you talking about?" he asked suspiciously.

She set down the milk jug on the table, crossed her arms, and stared at him.

It was the look Jack hated. It was the look that made him feel that he was one of her students and had forgotten to study for a test. A very important test.

"The reasons why you wanted a body?" she smugly repeated.

"So I could be with our child as a real father. While he or she grew up and started school."

"And?"

Jack gave her another puzzled look and wondered where she was going with her questioning. "So I can be with our child in public and not be some secret. They won't be ashamed of me, or forget me, or be bullied by other kids who think our son or daughter is wacko for thinking he has a ghost father."

"Aaaand?" Elizabeth dragged out the word as if speaking to a young child who was still missing the important test answer and needed prodding.

Jack threw up his hands in defeat. He had failed. "What? What am I missing?"

"So we could have _more_ children. A big family. _A houseful of children_ ," she reminded him of his words. "I said I was happy with you staying as you are. That I didn't want to risk us being separated again. But nooo, that wasn't good enough for you. YOU said you wanted it for this child as he grew AND so we could have a houseful of children."

"So we'll have more children," he agreed. "With me in the new body."

Elizabeth scoffed. "What? You're going to be the fertile octogenarian?"

"Men can have babies well into old age," Jack protested as he followed Elizabeth over to the couch where a basket of clothes waited to be folded.

"A man in his eighties fathering a baby?"

"Yes!"

"You won't be able to."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because if you come back to me in the body of that old man, I'm not going to be sleeping with you," Elizabeth answered matter-of-factly. She folded a pair of socks together across her round belly and gave Jack a knowing look.

* * *

It had become a battle of the sexes. Elizabeth refused to allow Jack to take over the body of an elderly man, and Jack had refused to even so much as kiss Elizabeth until she became more "reasonable".

The night of their nine-month anniversary was spent lying next to each other in bed as they both thought that the other was being childish.

Jack, desperate for a body, had argued that if the situation was reversed and Elizabeth was the ghost who came back to him in the body of an eight-two-year-old woman, he would still find her sexy and attractive. Elizabeth couldn't decide if she found Jack's words to be incredibly romantic or incredibly creepy. She finally decided it bordered on creepy since she wouldn't look like an eight-two-year-old version of herself, but some other old woman.

"You're making too many rules," Jack grumbled.

"What did you just say?!" An incredulous Elizabeth turned her head to look at him.

"I said you're making too many rules," he muttered. "No one under eighteen. No one over eighty-one."

Elizabeth stared at him. Her eyes wide with astonishment. "No one over eighty-one?! Is that what you think the top age limit is?! It's no one over _FIFTY-ONE_! You find me a man between thirty and fifty, and I will consider it."

Jack refused to look at her and kept staring at the ceiling. "Age is relative," he declared curtly.

"Except when someone's so old that their teeth have already fallen out."

"Not all of them," Jack grumbled.

"I'm not making the same mushed food for both our child and my husband. And I'm not flirting with an eight-two-year body in the hopes that you remember who you are."

"I promise to remember quickly."

"He probably has dementia and so you will too. You'll think I'm your daughter. It will be totally confusing when you wonder why your daughter is flirting with you."

"I will not think you're my daughter," Jack muttered disagreeably.

"The answer is still no. We'll wait until we find a better body. Remember our motto."

"Let's waste time and have a frustrating relationship?"

Elizabeth ignored his sarcasm. "Love is patient."

"We were patient for five years before we got married. Look where that got us."

 _He's got a point,_ she realized when she considered his words. But she wasn't going to give in. She wasn't willing to give up his ghost presence just yet, and she certainly wasn't eager to seduce him when he was in an old man's body.

She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him in the moonlight. Somehow his tense jawline and irritated attitude made him seem sexier than usual. "How about we forget about it for now and you kiss me? I love you."

"You want me because I'm all shimmery," he said firmly as he tried to fluff his pillow in an effort to ignore her stare. "And you can't have me. Even if I love you. Not tonight."

"I am almost due to give birth. You're supposed to be nice to me," she pouted.

"I'm dead and a ghost. You're supposed to be nice to me," he countered.


	33. Chapter 33 - Conflicting Ideas

**CHAPTER 33 – CONFLICTING IDEAS: OLD MEMORIES SPUR NEW IDEAS**

The next morning things weren't much better.

A dejected Jack slumped in one of the kitchen's wooden chairs and listened half-heartedly when Abigail, who had stopped by with some fresh muffins, talked with Elizabeth about cold weather, the possibility of snow, and whether she should use some of the town's budget to pay for Christmas tree decorations.

Last night, Elizabeth had woken up around midnight feeling a chill as the fire burned out in the kitchen stove which was meant to heat the entire house. She shivered and sleepily pulled the feather-filled cover up to her chin.

If Jack had been a normal husband who was still angry at his wife over something or other, he would have wearily sat on the edge of the mattress to put on his slippers in the dark, and then shuffled his feet downstairs to put more wood in the stove, maybe even sleepily wondered why they burned wood when they lived in a town built on coal production.

But Jack wasn't a normal husband and he couldn't pick up split logs to put into the cast iron stove, so instead of shuffling downstairs, he had turned onto his side.

Lovingly – and always her protector - he had smooshed his body against Elizabeth's soft form when he had sensed her shiver. He wrapped an arm around her. Spreading his ethereal warmth into her. Like liquid beams of sunshine instantly dispelling her chill. Because it didn't matter that he was upset with her. He still loved her. Always.

He just didn't want to make pleasant conversation with her the next morning.

" . . . . every family can donate an ornament," Abigail continued as she set down her cup of tea. "And I'm sure Rosemary and Dottie will donate fresh rolls of ribbon from their store. Last year's is too frayed and faded from the weather and. . . "

Elizabeth couldn't help but glance from Abigail to Jack, who looked like he had lost the will to remain a ghost if he had no hope for a body.

"Is everything okay, Elizabeth?" Abigail asked when she noticed that her friend seemed distracted.

"I'm fine." Elizabeth set down her own tea cup onto a small china saucer and spoke softly. "Just thinking about Jack."

A tender look came over Abigail's face. "I'm sure you are. Especially this close to the holidays and the birth of your baby." The woman reached her palm across the table and placed it on top of Elizabeth's hand. "He loved you very much and wanted you to be happy. Just remember that love."

Elizabeth gave a sad smile. "I just hope he knows how much I love him. How I would do almost anything for him. Almost anything."

"Anything but let me have a body," Jack muttered.

"When he's feeling hurt – when he _was_ feeling hurt -", Elizabeth quickly correctly herself to use the past tense, "Jack would act sullen and dejected, and sometimes defensive."

"I'm not sullen and dejected and defensive," Jack shot back defensively.

Elizabeth sighed. "You should get going, Abigail. You've got the Café to keep an eye on. I'm fine. Thanks for bringing the muffins."

* * *

After walking Abigail to the door and watching her disappear down the street, Elizabeth returned to the kitchen area.

"Jack, if you asked one hundred women, every single one of them would agree with me. Even the ones in their eighties," she told him in mild frustration.

"Men in their eighties can be sexy."

"Name one." She crossed her arms and waited.

"I – I - . . . . . I don't have to name one."

"You cannot expect me to be happy that you want to have the body of a man who's more than twice my age."

"Why not? It's just a body. I'd be inside. It'd still be me."

"Let's be logical. Let's say Sven lets you have his body. Don't you think it would look strange to our friends when I start trying to court him-you? And what about when you start to get your memory back, and you want to make out with me? Good grief, an old man chasing me down the street to grab me and kiss me? "

"What's wrong with that?" Jack challenged.

"You'd never catch me. You'd likely stumble on your bad arthritic knees and fall on your face. There go any remaining teeth."

"Stop it," he muttered. "Just forget the whole thing. I'll just continue to be a ghost."

"And he's got that old rough beard. I'd end up with grey whiskers in my mouth when we kissed. Ugh. It's be like kissing a hedgehog. Who wants to kiss a hedgehog? Not me. My cheeks can't handle the spines."

"I said just forget about it," Jack replied in irritation.

"You just have to wait until we find the right body," she said more warmly when she realized her attempt at teasing didn't get him to smile.

"Think about. When I decide to let you – as someone else - court me, the whole town will put in its two cents worth. They'll tell the man – whatever body you're in – that he has big shoes to fill if he wants to have a chance with me. They'll say that you and I were hopelessly in love with each other and that it will take a man of incredible character to replace Jack Thornton. They'll say that only a certain kind of man can ever hope to win my heart after the love that you and I shared."

"So?"

"So, do you honestly think that after the love that you and I shared, that I would settle for someone like old man Cumberson? Or a stranger who comes to town for a poker game? Or a traveling salesman who comes to peddle his wares? That I'd settle for someone who isn't smart, courageous, selfless, romantic?"

Jack shrugged. "Maybe."

" I can't be expected – after our love – to just fall for the next available man."

"You could try. It'd be me in there. What do you care what others think?"

"I care what YOU think. You won't have your memory at first. You'll be someone else. And I'll have to start a courtship all over again. I'll have to spend time with a man who's essentially a stranger to me. Wooing him, until your memories and soul come through the remaining traces of him. I can't simply do that with just anyone. Not while I'm missing you and taking care of a new baby. For it to work, it's going to have to be somewhat easy for me to want to be around the person and kiss the face of a stranger. I can't be turned off if I'm trying to turn you on and get you to remember us."

Elizabeth paused and waited. Hoping Jack would agree with her. Hoping he'd understand why she didn't want to take him in just any form.

"You think I'm being selfish, don't you?" she finally asked when he didn't bother looking up but simply stared at his shoes.

"Yes."

"I'm not!" she declared earnestly.

He raised his eyebrows and spoke scornfully. "Then why'd you ask if you're not going to believe me."

"I'm doing this for us," she insisted. "So it will be easier for you to find your way back to me. For me to find my way to you."

"You get me all to yourself this way," he noted with a tinge of accusation. "You don't have to share me with anyone. And I still look like before. Only better because I'm all shimmery and make you feel incredible when we . . . you know."

"It's just not the right time or body yet," she explained. "I waited my whole life to find you, it's not going to be easy to pretend to love someone else." Elizabeth spoke in a soothing voice that would normally be used for telling a student that he wasn't going to move onto the next higher grade.

But unlike a submissive obedient student, Jack refused to be consoled.

"It'd still be me!"

"But not really," she told him emphatically. "Not at first. I'd be talking and walking and dancing with a man who doesn't know he's you! Jack Thornton will just be a name on the school house sign. The name of my late husband. The name that people in town speak of fondly. You won't look like yourself. You'll have memories of the other man. You won't remember that you're my husband or even that we've met before. You may not even like me at first! Or you may not think that you can compete with you – the real you- ," she said as she confused herself with how to refer to him when he'd be in another body, " you know what I mean".

Jack stood up from the chair and went to look out the window. The town's nurse, Faith, bundled up against the cold, was coming out of the house next door. Jack remembered that Rosemary had been complaining at the mercantile that Lee was feeling under the weather. Two sneezes from the man, and Rosemary was buying ingredients to make him a pot of soup, a poultice, and new handkerchiefs.

"It's like before when we were still new in our relationship," Jack said abruptly as he turned away from the window.

"What are you talking about?"

Jack shrugged. "Just forget about it," he said rudely.

"No," an offended Elizabeth told him. She didn't know why she felt offended by his words but she had feeling he wasn't thinking pleasant thoughts about her. "Tell me what you meant by that."

"When we were still new in our relationship and I wasn't sure you could give up a nice fancy pampered life," he coldly reminded her. "You still want the good things. You want things neat and easy and handed to you on a silver platter."

Elizabeth screwed up her face and then scoffed. "On a silver platter? I don't need you on a silver platter. I just don't need you in a silver walker!"

"You can't handle things that aren't impeccable," he retorted.

"You have got to be kidding me?!"

"I'll look different than before, I agree. It will obviously take some getting used to for you. And yes, you'll have to court me and I won't know you. I'll think you're a widowed school teacher with a young son. People will tell me that I'll have to live up to the great Mountie Jack Thornton. So, yeah, it will take some work on your part. But what marriage doesn't take work?!"

"Work? What marriage doesn't take work? You think this is a NORMAL marriage?!"

"Normal marriages have their ups and downs. This is just one of those things."

"This isn't just one of those things. You're a ghost! In what sense of reality is this just an up or down?! You're a ghost!"

"I know that! You don't think I know that?!"

"I have to find you in another body and get you to fall in love with me all over again! That's not 'work'." Elizabeth looked at him in disbelief at how cavalierly he was talking about the monumental task she faced. "That's an ordeal! That's near impossible! How dare you compare me to that image you used to have of me as rich and spoiled?!"

Jack cringed slightly at her outburst but continued with his dejected, sullen, and defensive diatribe.

"I just think that maybe you don't like that this might not be easy and that I won't be shiny and perfect."

"You take that back!"

Jack cringed again but refused to back down, although he started to wonder if maybe he should.

"No. I want to take this body and it's not perfect for you, so you say no. And I'm supposed to go along with what _you_ want."

"How dare you think I can't handle things that aren't perfect!" she exploded. "Perfect? You think I only want what's perfect?! I put my life on hold for months when you went to the Northwest Territories! I married you a day after my wedding dress burned up! I had a wedding in a church that smelled like fresh paint instead of flowers!"

"It wasn't so bad," he replied meekly.

"I let you go off to some stupid training thing instead of our honeymoon in Chicago! I AM A WIDOW!"

Jack no longer wondered if he should have backed down. It didn't take a body with all its molecules to know he had stepped out of line. Way out of line.

"I GAVE YOU MY SOUL FOR ETERNITY!" she continued with her rant. " _ETERNITY_! AND YOU GAVE ME A _WEEK_! A WEEK! HOW IS THAT EVEN FAIR?!"

"I'm sorry," he cowered.

"ETERNITY IS MORE THAN A WEEK OF TRAVELING WITH YOU TO SOME STUPID TRAINING SITE! I WAITED FIVE YEARS TO MARRY YOU!"

"I know," he mumbled apologetically but an overly emotional Elizabeth didn't care. Feelings which she didn't even realize she had, came shooting out of her like a geyser at Yellowstone.

"I WAITED MONTHS FOR YOU TO KISS ME! THEN MORE MONTHS UNTIL YOU TOLD ME YOU LOVED ME! YEARS BEFORE YOU ASKED ME TO MARRY YOU! MONTHS WHILE YOU WERE AWAY AND IN DANGER! FIVE LONG YEARS OF WAITING! _FIVE!_ FOR WHAT?! A QUICKIE WEDDING AND A HONEYMOON THAT I COME BACK FROM ALONE?! A BRIDE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO COME BACK FROM A HONEYMOON ALONE!"

Jack hung his head in shame and wondered if she was ready to calm down.

Apparently, she wasn't.

Apparently, her pregnancy hormones were in overdrive.

"I WAS SUPPOSED TO COME BACK WITH A SMILE ON MY FACE AND A HUSBAND WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE! THAT'S HOW YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO COME BACK FROM A HONEYMOON!"

"I'm sorry," he said meekly.

"YOU THINK I NEED THINGS TO BE PERFECT? I'M A PREGNANT WIDOW! A PREGNANT WIDOW WHOSE HUSBAND IS A GHOST THAT NO ONE BUT ME CAN SEE AND THE TOWN THINKS THAT I'M GOING CRAZY!

"I'm sorry," he repeated again. He realized it didn't matter what he said but he kept apologizing anyway. He wished he had never thought of Sven Cumberson. He had never seen Elizabeth so angry. He wondered if it was the fact that she was pregnant or that she had a ghost husband, and then realized it didn't matter. Either one was enough to send hormones raging. Never mind having both at things at the same time. "I'm sorry."

"You bet you are." Elizabeth, her face red with fury, took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry!" Jack repeated frenziedly. "I was stupid to say anything. You're right. It was beyond stupid to think an old body would work."

Elizabeth, her hands on her hips, looked at him in contempt. "You got that right."

"Don't get upset. You'll upset the baby."

Jack, forgetting that he couldn't move furniture, attempted to pull a chair out for her to sit in. His hands passed through it but Elizabeth's anger lessened at his attempt at chivalry.

"You can't move the chair," she muttered unnecessarily.

An emotionally spent Elizabeth pulled it out herself and sat down in a mixture of haughty lady-likeness and tired large-bellied pregnant woman.

"I'm sorry," a remorseful Jack said again.

"I'm sorry I went to the stupid training. I'm sorry I died. I'm sorry I even thought about being an old man. I'm sorry I can't pull out a chair for you . . .. ," he told her profusely and then continued to guiltily list more things in an attempt to sooth her.

". . . . I'm sorry I didn't marry you sooner. I'm sorry I waited so long to kiss you that first year! It wasn't even that good a kiss!" he moaned in a pathetic voice.

"It wasn't so bad," Elizabeth said begrudgingly.

"Yes, it was. It was stupid and awkward. I was too nervous," he lamented. "I should have done it better."

"You've done better since," she told him. "Lots of times. The kiss when you went to the Northern Territories was epic. That was the only good thing about that whole saga. That and our engagement."

Jack crouched down in front of her and gathered her hands into his. "We love each other. We've been given another chance. I'm not going to nag you. I'm not going to jump in some old body. I'm not going to make it hard for you to find me. I'll make it work for us. I promise. It's like we said before in the coal mine -"

"That I don't know which lifestyle I want?"

"No," he chuckled softly. "The other stuff."

"That you wanted to keep courting me because you liked my knees?"

Jack grinned. "The other stuff. But I do like your knees."

"About Rip?"

Jack laughed aloud. He knew her anger had melted away even if she wasn't smiling yet. "That whatever challenges we have to face, we can take them on together."

"That was before I knew you'd be missing a body," she remarked in a disgruntled voice but Jack heard a hint of laughter.

"Yeah," he said pensively. "This whole me-dying-thing has thrown us a curve ball."

The couple paused and gave each other sympathetic looks as they thought about the curve ball of him getting killed in a landslide.

Elizabeth broke the silence first and gave her husband a small smile. "Remember when we coached baseball teams? I read the rule book so I'd be prepared for every possible curve ball, foul, or out, or whatever."

"You were prepared all right," he chuckled. "And the sexiest coach I've ever seen. In that white outfit of yours."

"Things were simple then," Elizabeth noted as she thought about the wonderful summer when they had no worries. "Maybe more boring. But I didn't mind. It was nice."

"It was."

"There's no rule book for how to do this," she said glumly.

"We'll make our own rules."

Jack continued to clasp her hands in his and spoke earnestly. "I still believe what I said before. Whatever challenges we have to face, we can take them on together."

Elizabeth adored the way he looked at her.

She loved his eyes.

She hoped that when he had a new body, she'd recognize these same beautiful eyes and the way they looked at her.

"We will." She nodded with determination. "I love you, Jack Thornton."

"I love you, Elizabeth Thornton," he said hoarsely as he leaned closer and now cupped her face in his strong hands.

His mouth brushed against hers and she breathed in the scent of cinnamon tea and spearmint. Elizabeth didn't know how or why, but Jack still retained her favorite tastes.

And then he kissed her in a way that made her heart quicken even as she went weak.

It was a long passionate kiss.

The kind of kiss that made her want to forget about going to school that day and instead go back upstairs to the bedroom.

* * *

Jack was determined that he wouldn't let Elizabeth down. Not this time. Their reminiscing had given him an idea. It was a long shot, but stranger things had happened. He looked at the wooden sign bearing his name and wondered what he had ever done so wrong that he was killed off.

He would have liked to carry her books as they walked up the school house steps, but it was impossible. Just like opening the door for her was impossible. So instead, he waited patiently while she adjusted her books in one arm and pushed open the door with the other.

"I may be a little late coming home tonight," he told her as the entered the building.

"Where are you going?" she asked casually as she set her books down on a nearby pew to take off her scarf and then her gloves. The students would be arriving in a few minutes but it was still just the two of them and Elizabeth could speak freely.

"I have something I want to check on."

"Anything important? I hope there aren't any more mountain lion attacks on livestock."

"No, none lately. There's just something I want to look into. It may take a while so don't wait for me after school. I'll meet you at home. You're okay walking home by yourself, right?"

She smiled and gave a small comical shake of her head at his protective nature - which was both incredibly loving husband and trained Mountie.

"Jack, I've walked home by myself hundreds of times."

"But not when you were nine months pregnant."

"I'll be fine. You just be careful with your rounds." She stopped unbuttoning her coat, and lifted her face to his to accept a kiss.

Jack briefly touched his lips to hers and then smiled. "I don't have to be careful. I'm a ghost. But I get the sentiment. I love you too. Call for me if you go into labor."

"I will but I don't want you watching me," she reminded him.

* * *

Jack waited until Elizabeth had taken off her coat and was heading to her desk before leaving her.

He had done a good job of hiding his emotions on the walk to the building, but he couldn't deny that was anxious. He mentally went over his Mountie training for dealing with situations: Know the requirements. Make a plan. Evaluate the situation. Execute the plan.

Elizabeth had already made clear the requirements for his new body. As for making a plan, he had done that while Elizabeth, naively thinking that the discussion of finding a body was temporarily put on a shelf, had been washing the breakfast dishes and feeding the kittens.

Now, Jack just needed to evaluate the situation. And to do that, he needed to go to the city.

And not just any city.

 **UP NEXT: CHAPTER 34**

 **Dear Readers:**

 **I'm so glad that my story made you laugh last week to those of you that had a bad day or week at work (I've had my share of those).**

 **I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time for more festivities.**

 **Happy 1st night of Hanukkah to some of you, and to many others, have fun decorating for Christmas.**


	34. Chapter 34 - Should old acquaintances

**CHAPTER 34 – SHOULD OLD ACQUAINTANCES BE FORGET AND NEVER BROUGHT TO MIND**

Elizabeth draped a thick shawl around her shoulders and walked outside onto the front porch. It was dark except for a few twinkling lights from the town center which were visible from her position. She looked into the distance, knowing that she shouldn't expect to see anyone. The man she was thinking about wouldn't need to ride home on a horse or even walk home.

The wind blew a few fallen dry leaves along the street giving the night a spooky feeling. For weeks it had been too cold for anyone to linger longer than necessary outside. Puffs of smoke from rooftop pipes were evidence that the town inhabitants were warming their homes as best as they could.

Elizabeth shivered and wrapped her shawl tighter. For the last few hours, she had kept busy with dinner and grading papers, and then cleaning the house which actually didn't need cleaning but she wanted to be prepared. She surmised that in a few weeks she wouldn't have time to clean anything but the soft delicate body of an infant.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing out here?"

A startled Elizabeth glanced to her right and saw Rosemary standing twenty feet away on an identical front porch. The woman, who had come outside to get a log from the wood pile, was staring at Elizabeth.

"Jack's late," Elizabeth said in a forlorn voice.

 _Crap, Did I say that aloud?_

"What did you say?" Rosemary asked warily. "Because I though you said that Jack's late. Elizabeth dear, are you feeling okay?" A suddenly nervous Rosemary looked into the night air as if expecting a ghostly Mountie to come riding towards the house like a vision from Washington Irvin's Sleepy Hollow.

Rosemary pulled her own shawl closer and shivered from either the night chill or the eerie thought of a headless horseman.

"A star," Elizabeth said quickly before Rosemary questioned her sanity. "I named one of the stars after Jack. I like to think its him up in heaven looking down on me. I can usually see it around this time. It's just a little late today. Maybe because it's a bit cloudier."

"That's very sweet and romantic. I'm sure he's up there," Rosemary remarked as she too looked towards the night sky.

The women were silent for a moment before Rosemary spoke again. "But if he was down here, he'd tell you to go inside. It's too cold for you out here," she said in a motherly tone as she returned her gaze to Elizabeth and encouraged her to go inside.

* * *

The milk was tepid at best. Still only room temperature rather than deliciously warm.

Elizabeth, using a long wooden spoon to stir the liquid in a pot on the stove, paused when her entire stomach seemed to move. She had felt it before but she still smiled every time her baby rearranged himself in an effort to get comfortable.

"Jack, I wish you were here. Where are you?" she whispered as she cupped her stomach.

"Right here," he said as he appeared next to her.

"You heard me," a pleased Elizabeth told him softly.

Jack grinned. "I heard you." He noticed her hands, and placed one of his own on her belly. Smiling, he looked from her belly to her face. "How's our boy?"

"He's saying he's ready to come out and meet us any day now."

"You know, if this baby turns out to be a girl, we're in trouble," Jack chuckled.

"I've got a few pink things just in case."

"Warm milk to help you sleep?" he questioned with a nod to the pot on the stove.

"It's soothing and you're late."

"I told you I would be late. Did you eat already?"

"I had some stew, but I'm hungry again."

The glass dome lid over the plate of muffins protected the baked goods from the Thornton family kittens but didn't hide the appetizing appeal from a hungry Elizabeth. She lifted the lid and took one of the sweet items that was left over from breakfast.

"Did Rip come home yet?" Jack asked. "He was waddling near the Café last time I saw him this morning."

"He showed up to walk me home from school. I figured you had sent him."

"Not this time," Jack said just before the basset hound popped into the kitchen to greet his owner. Jack bent down and rubbed the dog on the head. "I guess he knows to look after you always."

"I must be the best protected woman," Elizabeth said with a smile. "A ghost husband and ghost dog to keep an eye on me."

"Milk's boiling," Jack noted as he looked at the bubbles popping on the milk's surface.

"Hey, watch it," he instructed. He swatted at one of the kittens that tried to jump up onto the stove. The little creature mewed as it flew gently in the opposite direction.

Jack's eyes widened. "Did you see that? I moved it! I moved White-tail."

Elizabeth yawned. "Good," she replied as she wrapped a dishtowel around the pot handle and poured the hot liquid into a mug. "But can you hurry up and do more than that, because I'm going to need you to help change diapers in a few weeks, and swatting at a kitten isn't going to do it for me."

"Sorry," Jack said but he didn't seem the least bit disappointed as he took a seat at the table.

"I should be able to hold our baby to cuddle him or her, and burb him – I'm feeling more confident about that -, but I won't be able to pick up the diaper pins or carry any dirty diapers to the wash basin. You know what it's like. I can't touch objects that aren't actually touching your skin, so I won't be able to touch anything when it's not touching him," Jack said with a smile and shrug. "So, I'm afraid changing diapers is out of the picture."

"Men," Elizabeth replied with a shake of her head.

She sat down across from him and cradled the warm mug in her hands. "I love you, " she tenderly told him for no reason other than it was true and she was at peace that he was home.

"I love you too," Jack said casually as he moved a kitten that was now climbing up his leg. "Look. This is great. I can move them. I let them lick that milk off my fingers yesterday and again earlier this morning, and now they love me."

" _I_ love you, "Elizabeth corrected. "They think of you as a food source."

"And our new baby will think of you as a food source," Jack noted humorously. "But that won't stop it from adoring you."

Elizabeth thought briefly about her body being used as basic feeding source, and then swallowed a bite of muffin. "Did everything go okay?"

"When?"

"Today. When you were off on your mission."

Yeah, how'd your day go?"

"Fine. The students are picking names for the baby. The girls are going with Jacqueline or Flowerbud –"

"Flowerbud?!" Jack's eyes scrunched up in disgust.

Elizabeth nodded. "That was some of the younger ones' idea. The boys are going with Jack or Daniel."

"Daniel?"

"After Daniel Boone. We've been studying him."

"Our choices are naming the baby after me, after an American we never knew who wore a racoon tail on his hat, or after flora? I'm thinking after me's not such a bad choice."

Elizabeth took a sip from her mug. "I agree. So? Are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"What you were off mysteriously doing today."

"Nothing mysterious. Just stuff."

"Mountie stuff?"

"I'm a Mountie. Everything I do is Mountie stuff." Jack noted casually.

Elizabeth gave him a "teacher look" – the one she usually reserved when guilty students were squirming in front of her hoping she didn't know what they were up to.

"Did you know that the students still think that I have an uncanny teacher's intuition?" she noted as she pulled a nut from her muffin and popped it into her mouth. "They think I can tell when they've been up to no good, in trouble, or haven't studied for a test. Especially with how you help me keep an eye on them. They call it Thornton Thinking."

"Really?" he said innocently.

"Really." She nonchalantly took a bite of her muffin but gave him a knowing look.

"You've got some crumbs on your belly" he pointed out to her in an attempt to change the conversation.

Elizabeth wiped the crumbs onto the floor where they were pounced on by the kittens. "It's not going to work."

"What's not going to work?"

"Keeping work secrets from me. That whole bit about there are some things in your job that you can't talk about. Spit it out. What have you been up to?"

"It's not work-related," Jack responded with a tinge of dread about what he was about to tell her.

Elizabeth set the muffin on her plate. Wiping her hands, she leaned back in her chair, and stared at him. Waiting.

"Okay, now listen. Don't get upset and start disagreeing with me," he added cautiously when she continued to look at him expectantly.

Elizabeth looked at him suspiciously. "What did you do?"

"I listened to what you said earlier this morning about how hard it was going to be for you to fall in love with me if I'm still a stranger and don't have my memory. And I can't just pick any old guy. He may not even like you when he meets you."

"What does that have to do with you being gone all day?"

"You said that I needed to find someone who was smart, courageous, selfless, and romantic so it would look believable to everyone and be easier for you to court me," Jack patiently reminded her.

"And be an appropriate age," she remarked.

"Right. I didn't forget that."

"What exactly have you been doing?" she asked warily. "Because I thought I made it clear that we were going to be patient and wait for the right time and the right body."

"You were going to have to start a relationship with a stranger. Someone who moves to Hope Valley. And everyone's going to compare him to me. Even though it really will be me. I just won't know it at first. So, you need me to be someone who won't be scared off by the idea of taking my place as your husband. Even though I'll really be taking his place to take my place as your husband which was my place in the first place."

"Right." Elizabeth was slightly surprised how sane it all sounded.

"So, I got to thinking. What if you don't have to start a relationship with a stranger?"

"Okay," she said warily. 'But how do I get you back if I don't start a relationship? You have to be around me to get your memory back."

"I kept thinking about what you said – that what if new me's body doesn't even like you when you first meet."

"It's a possibility," Elizabeth acknowledged. "You might think I'm not your type."

"Exactly! So maybe it would be a good idea – a great idea –", he said enthusiastically, "if the new me isn't a stranger but someone you already know."

"Like old man Cumberson?" she scoffed, and began eating again.

Jack's knee bounced up and down in nervous energy.

"Someone who likes you already," Jack ventured.

"Jack, lots of people like me. I'm not a horrible hag. I was just saying its possible that the new body guy might not think he's compatible with me. I wasn't saying that it's _likely_."

"Right. But we should try to make this as easy as possible so I get back to you quickly."

"Okay. So, you just want me to start being nice to everyone?"

Jack paused for a moment, and took a deep breath before speaking. "I found someone else already. Maybe. He's smart enough. I'm not sure about the courageous and selfless part – I never saw that, but I'll admit he's got manners and is a pretty decent guy. He's not my idea of romantic, although he thinks he is. And the town does too. So, it will seem perfectly normal for the two of you to get together. Well, actually it will be me – but I'll be in his body."

Elizabeth scrunched her face in confusion. "Who are you talking about?"

"Who do you think?"

"I have no idea," she admitted.

"Think about it."

"Jack, I have no idea who it might be. It's not like there are a surplus of smart, mannerly, somewhat romantic men in my life."

"You get along well. Although I have no idea why," Jack told her with a shrug. "He makes my skin crawl."

"Good grief! You're going to murder Carson," a shocked Elizabeth exclaimed. "You're going to wait until after he delivers the baby and then murder him so you can take his body!"

Jack pursed his lips and his eyes narrowed in ridicule. "Don't be silly. I am not going to murder Carson."

"Good," she said in obvious relief. "I need him to give the baby monthly check-ups, and be there if he gets sick."

Elizabeth picked up her mug and took a sip. "And he's the town doctor. If you take over his body, you'd have to pretend to be a doctor. I'm guessing your few weeks of Mountie first aid isn't the same as medical school."

"I agree. Eat your muffin."

"And he's not even dying, is he?"

"Not that I know of," Jack replied casually.

She narrowed her eyes and studied her husband from across the table.

"You're not going to tell a horse to run him over, are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"No. I told you that it's not Carson."

"You're not to going to chase some mountain lions in his direction so they maul him?" she questioned with still a hint of suspicious.

Jack chuckled. "No. I told you it's NOT Carson."

"Good."

A reassured Elizabeth went back to eating her late-night snack. "Besides, Faith has a crush on him. It wouldn't look good for me to move in on him – even if he really is you. For goodness sakes, I don't want to go through that whole jealousy- competition thing over you with Faith again. It was bad enough when she was in Hamilton and then moved here."

Jack paused and tapped his foot nervously again before speaking. "Interesting that you would mention Hamilton."

"Why?"

Elizabeth took a big sip of milk and looked at Jack. He remained quiet but his eyes urged her to answer her own question.

A second later it came to her.

She spit out the milk from her mouth, causing it to spray across the table and land in dozens of droplets.

"Oh my God! You want to take over Charles' body?!"

"He fits all your requirements!" Jack exclaimed as he leaped to his feet to avoid the kittens who had jumped on the table to lick up the warm liquid.

"Charlies?! Charles Kensington?! You want to take over Charles' body?!"

"Why not?!" Jack protested. "Think about. Stop dribbling milk down your chin." He moved to hand her a napkin but his hand passed through it.

Elizabeth's eyes were wide as she watched her husband cavalierly discuss taking over the body of her childhood friend – who as far as she knew was still very much alive and in no hurry to change that status.

She passed a checked cloth square over her mouth, and shook her head in disbelief.

"You have got to be kidding?"

"I'm not! Think about it!" Jack urged.

"If I didn't want to marry him before what makes you think I'd want to marry him now," she asked in disgust.

"Because –" Jack said with an encouraging smile. "It will be me!"

"Not at first," she reminded him. "It will be him."

Jack acted like a boy asking if he can keep a puppy. "Think how much easier it will be for us to be together if the two of you – of us – feel comfortable with each other. And the townspeople will think it's totally normal for you to start a relationship with him"

"Is he even dying?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"It's possible."

"What do you mean it's _possible_? It's _possible_ for everyone to be dying. You need to be a little more specific than that. And I think if he was sick, my family would have mentioned it in a sentence or two in a letter. Or it would have been in -," Elizabeth stopped in midsentence as a look of horror suddenly crossed her face.

"Dear Lord, you're going to kill him?! You're going to have a horse run over him!"

Jack frowned. "What is it with you and horses running over people?"

"Well?! Are you?!"

"I can assure you that I am not going to have a horse run over him. I'm in the Royal _Mounted_ Police. It's Not the Royal Mounted-on-Evil Horses Police."

"Then some other way!"

"What other way?" he scoffed. "I can't even pick up a cloth napkin."

"You could – you could –" she fumbled until she came up for a way for Jack to murder someone without having the ability to pick up a knife, gun, rope, or sledgehammer. "You could drown him! With your bare hands!"

"Where? In a puddle in the city?" he questioned incredulously. "In the fancy fountain in front of his house? In his bathtub?"

"It's possible," she retorted but was starting to realize she sounded ridiculous.

Jack gave her a look of contempt. "Did you forget something? I can't touch anyone but you. Last time I checked, Charles Kensington hadn't professed his love for me and pledged his soul to me for eternity."

"Hummpf," she replied when she realized that he was right about not being able to touch the other man. "Well, what makes you think he may be dying?" she challenged.

"I went to Hamilton and watched him. That's how I know he has a fancy fountain in front of his mansion."

"And?"

"He might have a cold," Jack said hopefully.

"A cold? He might have a cold?" Elizabeth said scornfully. "Half the population has a cold. It's December in Canada."

"I heard him cough. More than once."

"Was he in a shipping factory when he coughed? Where they make crates?"

Jack's eyes showed his surprise. "How'd you know that?"

"He's allergic to sawdust. It tickles his throat," she explained matter-of-factly. "He could never handle the crates."

"Darn," Jack frowned. "So, he's not sick."

"Not unless you heard sniffling and he had a fever."

"He was sweating" Jack said as his face lit up, but then quickly fell again. "But I think that was from the fireplaces and the furnaces."

"Well, it's not going to work. Even if he is dying – and I hope to God that he's not - I never wanted to kiss him before, and I still can't see wanting to kiss him."

"But it'd be me!"

"But YOU wouldn't know it. And goodness," she said as an idea came to her, "maybe that would make it ever harder for you to come through to me. Because he'd have memories of me and when a Jack- memory came back, he'd think it was a Charles-memory."

"What do you mean?" a confused Jack asked.

"I've walked around the pond with him _and_ with you. I've danced with him _and_ with you. I've had dinner with him _and_ with you. I've been to restaurants with him _and_ with you. I've toasted a drink with him _and_ with you. I've -"

"You've done an awful lot with him," a now slightly jealous Jack interrupted but Elizabeth didn't seem to notice.

"If a you-memory of us dancing or something comes back to you, you might not think it's odd. You'd just think it's a Charles memory. I've known him since childhood; we have a lot of memories together. "

"So, it seems," Jack muttered disagreeably.

"There's bound to be a muddling of memories and they wouldn't seem too unusual for you."

"I guess, it's possible," Jack conceded. "But we've had _more_ memories. Closer memories. More intimate memories, right?" Jack asked as he looked to Elizabeth for confirmation that his relationship with her was better than that of her Hamilton friend. "So, I think – no, I _know_ \- that my Jack-memories would come through."

"What makes you think he'd even give you his body?" Elizabeth asked. "You were competition. And you won. He wasn't exactly pleased when I turned down his marriage proposal and told him that I was in love with someone else. And I'm pretty sure he knew I was talking about you. Especially because every time I ever said your name, I got a dreamy look on my face. So, I can't see him willingly giving you his body. Especially if you murder him."

"I'm not going to murder him!" Jack exclaimed.

"Right. That's what you say."

"He wants you to be happy," Jack offered as he tried to concentrate on a future life with Elizabeth. "That's why I thought that he'd be a great choice! He'll offer me his body if he dies from an illness because he cares about your happiness."

"I'm not so sure about that. He was pretty mad and insulted when I rejected him and his big fat diamond ring."

"But let's just say he is sick- " Jack paused. "How big was his ring? Bigger than mine?"

"You're missing the point, darling."

"Let's say he gets sick" Jack continued, "or he gets in an accident. What if I hang around and watch him some more, and if by some chance he succumbs to something or other, and he gives me his body, you'd be okay with it, right?"

Elizabeth gave her husband a stern look. "I thought we weren't in a hurry for you to get a body."

"I'm just saying. What if? Think about it. Please."

Elizabeth scrunched up her face. "To be honest, it kind of creeps me out."

"Creeps _you_ out? I'm the one that has to walk around in his arrogant body."

 _Men. Even when they're ghosts they can be manipulated. I just have to let him think he's_ _in control. Why in the world would he think I would ever be okay kissing Charles' face?!_

Elizabeth realized it would take some simple creative talking to get Jack to give up on the idea of Charles as a suitable replacement. "Actually, he has a nice body," she noted. "He's a bit taller than you. Probably at least two inches. And his shoulders are broader. His jaw is stronger than yours."

Jack pensively ran his hand along his jaw.

"And he has softer hands," Elizabeth continued. "They're not used to holding reins or hard work like yours. No callouses."

"Who cares how his hands feel? I can live with soft hands. It's a body and –," Jack paused. "Wait a second. How do you know how soft his hands are?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Dancing. Walking together. Nothing special. Now that I think about, he might actually be three inches taller than you. Your work boots have a heel."

"Enough," Jack said tersely. "There's no need to do a physical comparison."

"Hmm. You know, maybe he would be a good choice for me."

"No, he's not. I've changed my mind. He seemed perfectly healthy."

"He has brown hair. That was one of our requirements," she reminded him pleasantly.

"That was if you didn't know what body I was taking," Jack countered. "It's not necessarily a requirement set in stone."

Elizabeth ignored Jack's protest, and pondered the matter with a thoughtful look on her face. "He does have nice skin. No beard. And he has all his teeth. We used to go to the same dentist," she added knowingly.

"I said he's not sick," Jack replied curtly. This was not going at all as he had expected. She was supposed to merely put up with the idea of Charles' body, not look forward to it. Jack felt like after three years, he was again in some sort of competition with the other man, who had no idea that hundreds of miles from Hamilton, people were discussing his attributes and whether he'd make a good dead body.

"He's very smart, which is nice. He knows Latin."

"I know Latin," Jack countered.

"He speaks French. Such a romantic language," Elizabeth noted. "He took several years of lessons and his governess was French-speaking."

"I speak French."

"He knows Latin _in_ French," Elizabeth offered pleasantly.

"There's no such thing," Jack retorted with a hint of uncertainty.

"If you say so."

Jack started pacing the kitchen wondering why he came up with such a stupid idea. The last thing he wanted was to extend Charles' life by giving him the Mountie's soul, have Elizabeth woo the man, and have Charles' tinge of soul keep Jack from ever coming through.

 _Charles will end up with Elizabeth! Because she'll keep kissing him and dancing with him and flirting with him to try and get me out but I'll be confused by Charles' memories of her! And then she'll just keep kissing his rich arrogant face! And when that doesn't work and she gets desperate, she'll try enticing him into bed! What was I thinking?! Idiot!_

"He might have an accident," Elizabeth noted as she seemed not to notice Jack's nervous pacing. "City traffic can be dangerous. What with the cars and horses competing for the road. Accidents probably happen quite often."

"There won't be any accidents! He's fine. He'll live to be a hundred."

Elizabeth pulled another nut from her muffin and hesitated before popping it into her mouth. "Did you know that Madame Curie, the famous scientist, her husband died when he was run over by a horse-drawn carriage. Horribly messy, not to mention sad. I suppose it could happen to Charles. I'd like his face not to be messed up though."

"We're not talking about Madame Curie or her husband!" Jack erupted.

He took a deep breath and watched how carefree Elizabeth seemed to be as she contemplated being with another man's body. "Forget I mentioned Charles. I should have just stayed home today."

"He has that fancy car. Remember we rode in it once. He might drive too fast. Get in an accident. And be lying in a hospital bed. You could get to him just in time, and swoop into him when his soul swooped out."

"There will be no swooping!"

Elizabeth took a sip of warm milk and looked over the edge of the mug at Jack. "Mother and Father like him already. They've always thought of him as a potential son-in-law," she noted.

"I'm their son-in-law!"

"I know I never wanted to kiss him before," Elizabeth said thoughtfully, "but you're right, it would be you inside. And kissing him – you -might not be so bad. Julie's always wondered what it would be like to kiss Charles. I suppose I could tell her. She said he had nice lips. And goodness, he's probably kissed a lot of women. He's quite the popular gentleman in Hamilton. I'm sure he's very good at kissing."

"There will be NO KISSING!" Jack said forcefully. "I am not getting a body any time soon. I am waiting for the baby to come. And then spending time with you and our son or daughter."

"I think it's going to be a son."

"I said no kissing anyone else." Jack expectantly looked at her for confirmation.

"I heard you, Jack," she said with a friendly smile. "There will be no kissing anyone else. And you want to wait to find another body. Even if it takes months."

"Right. I'll decide when the time is right. And I don't think it will be right for a while."

"Whatever you decide, Jack." Elizabeth agreed.

 **Up next: Chapter 35**


End file.
